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A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGIOUS BOOKS OF INEIA, 
WITH SOME REMARKS CONCERNING THEIR 
ORIGIN, CHARACTER, AND INFLUENCE. 


AND OTHER ESSAYS. 


BT 

WILLIAM A. LEONARD, 

MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL INDIAN 
ASSOCIATION. 


“ There is nothing more interesting than religion in the whole history 
of man.”—Max Muller. 

“ A declaration of truth is more excellent than silence.”—Manu. 

“ The great art of book-writing is to tell the reader just enough to 
make him wish for more.”—Theological Review, Jan., 1875. 


GLASGOW: 

JOHN S. MARR & SONS, 185 BUCHANAN STREET; 

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., LONDON. 



NOTE. 

As the principle which the National Indian Association has 
adopted is the Government one of non-interference with the 
Social or Religious Customs of the people of India, it may¬ 
be as well to state here that of course the opinions expressed 
in the following pages are (so far as the Association is con¬ 
cerned) entirely my own, 

W. A. L. 


Western Ont. Univ. Library 

^JAN 1 4 1939 



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PREFACE. 


A MEMBER of the Committee of the National Indian Asso¬ 
ciation, I have been led into frequent intercourse with those 
Indians who have visited England for the purpose of study. 
Intercourse with these gentlemen naturally suggested a wish 
to know something of their ancient Religion, while extracts 
from their Religious Books occasionally to be met with in 
magazine articles and elsewhere served to increase that 
desire. I soon discovered how true were the words of the 
Hindu convert to Christianity, Joguth Chandra Gangooly— 
“ What a splendid religion the Hindu religion must have 
“ been 1” 

Of the Aryan stock ourselves, the Literature of India 
should have an immense interest for us. In the Hymns of 
the Vedas we can trace the rise of mythology; while in the 
philosophical portion of the Vedas (the Upanishads, &c.), 
and in the writings of Buddha, are high thoughts of God and 
exalted ideas of morality. 

To clear away the misunderstandings and misconceptions 
which have for so long obscured the fair light of Indian 
Theology—a theology which will not suffer by comparison 
with Semitic Theology—is my chief object in publishing this 
treatise on Hindu Thought. If my endeavour should lead 
my countrymen to take an interest in the religious hopes 
and fears of the inhabitants of that great Empire, placed—as 
it would seem, looking back to the past and on to the future 







V. 


PREFACE. 


—under our guidance by Providence, then I shall be well 
satisfied. 

Narrow views of the Divine government of the world are 
fast giving way to a broad belief that God has indeed been 
in History; that India, as well as Judaea, has had her line 
of Prophets, and, alas ! of Priests also; that God has not 
left himself without a witness in any corner of the earth; and 
that in His kingdom are all those who work righteousness, 
whether they have heard of Jesus or not. 

Max Muller, in his Lectures on the Science of Religion 
(Longmans, 1873), puts in an earnest and noble plea for a 
generous recognition of the essentially religious character of 
the primitive Hindu faith. For the inquirer no better books 
can be found than the volume alluded to, together with the 
other works of this great scholar. I need hardly say how 
much indebted the paper on Hindu Thought is to Mr. 
Muller’s researches. 

The Other Essays” are collected papers which I at 
various times contributed to the periodical literature of the 
day, and which are here revised and enlarged. I reprint 
them in the hope that they may stir up thought; for a man’s 
opinions are nothing worth unless they are his own. But 
how few of us can say, ‘‘ Our opinions are our own, for we 
have thought them out for ourselves 1” Opinions, especially 
religious opinions, are too often inherited like wealth, and it 
cannot be too frequently insisted that s^uch opinions are no 
opinions at all. When men learn to think for themselves, 
then will the advent of the Church of the Future be at hand. 


Bristol, 1875. 


W. A. L. 



CONTENTS. . i 


iAci 


Hindu Thought— 

Chapter I.—Introduction, I Z Z >. g 

Chapter IL—Idolatry ? - - - - '• 15 

Chapter III.—Nature-Worship and the.Origin of 

Mythology, ' .24 

Chapter IV.— Origin of Religion—The Upani- 

shads,.32 

Chapter V.—The Laws of Manu, - - - 44 

Chapter VI.— Buddhism, . 49 

Chapter VII.—Hindu Philosophy, - - - 56 

Chapter VIII.— Brahmanism—Suttee, and Infant 

Marriage,.60 

Chapter IX.—The Brahmo-Somaj, - - - 65 

Appendix, - - . * - - - 67 









CONTENTS. 


viii. 

Other Essays— 

Manu, 

The Passion-Play at Ober-Ammergaii, 
The Esthetics of Public Worship, - 
What do we know of God ? 

Our Children’s Prayers, - 


69 

75 

82 

90 

lOI 




HINDU THOUGHT. 


Chapter I.—Introduction. 

Nations have ever been too ready to regard with contempt 
civilizations other than their own. To the Jews there were 
but two classes of men—themselves and the Gentiles : the 
Greeks considered surrounding nations to be barbarians : 
and if the Romans—mindful of their avowed wild origin, and 
conscious that their civilization lacked the fine touches of 
their more esthetic vassals—could not, in like manner, 
regard the northern nations who over-ran them as quite out¬ 
side the pale of civilised life; yet we have in the term 
Vandalism a sufficient indication of the feeling which has 
existed respecting those invaders. Nor is the Saxon civili¬ 
zation free from this self-complacent egotism: we are too 
prone to consider ourselves as the favoured of heaven, and to 
regard as our Canaan those distant lands whose inhabitants 
differ in religion and modes of life from the types considered 
so perfect at home. Is it not notorious that, save among an 
enlightened few, the- people of foreign lands are still spoken 
of as heathen ? 

Milton, in his Areopagitica, describes Truth as having 
been cut into many pieces, far back in the distant ages, and 
in that noble speech he claims for man perfect freedom of 






10 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


search, in order that once more her beautiful form may 1 
delight the nations. But surely Truth—pure, absolute 
Truth—has not been discovered yet j and if not, why do we ! 
so persistently (if not in so many words, at least by implica¬ 
tion) affirm its present possession by ourselves? Whenever, 
and by whomsoever, the way to a knowledge of the literature 
and customs of contemporary, or even defunct, nations, is j 
barred, then, I say, the possibility of any portion of truth 
being found in such literature and customs is virtually denied. 

There are many things, indeed, “ by law established,” in 
our Western civilization which afford excellent ground for 
the heathen to turn the tables upon us, and enquire where 
our boasted progress is, and wherein we are better, or even 
so good, as they! The extreme laws for the protection of 
property, the severe penalties for theft, and on the other 
hand the comparatively slight punishments for assault or 
seduction, do no honour to our moral code. 

■ Sir John Lubbock relates how a Jesuite missionary found 
the South Sea Islanders ignorant of the existence of a God, 

(i) and doubtless the story has been made the most of on i 
missionary platforms; but while lamenting that any nation 
should be so wrapped up in the present as to have no 
thought of the future, let us not accept hastily the implied 
conclusion that all our countrymen believe in a God. If the 
ignorance of the poor South Sea Islander be a dark fact, 
what a still darker fact it must be, that thousands of men, 
women, and children here in the centres of European civili¬ 
zation, grow up and pass through life without apparently ' 
ever dreaming of a Superior Being, or of a Future Life. 

If, then, our civilization is not without its blots, we must i 

perforce acknowledge its imperfection; and we shall the i 

more readily examine the ancient literature of other nations 
in proportion to the strength of our conviction, that the sole 

(1) Such statements as these must, however, be received with caution. 



HINDU THOUGHT> 


II 


possession of absolute truth is not at present confined to any 
one nation—not even to ourselves ! 

The Hindu race has perhaps the first claim on the at¬ 
tention of the student, and for these important reasons : 
India has given its religion to half the population of the 
globe (2), and it possesses the most ancient literature of any 
nation (3) j a literature, moreover, which is invaluable to the 
student of Mythology, Philology, or Religion, abounding, as 
it does, with words and phrases which must have been 
handed down from pre-historic times, almost unveiling to us 
the simple minds of primitive man. 

The early home of the human race was, it is generally 
admitted, in Central Asia, and Hindustan was doubtless an 
early settlement, as families migrated from the ancestral 
ground. For how long the originators of our race remained 
together before spreading themselves over the globe, it is 
now quite impossible to say. Comparative Mythology has 
made it certain that a long time must have elapsed (4), for 
while each nation has myths and folk lore of its own, the 
stories when analysed, and the names of the heroes when 
examined, almost invariably point to a common origin. 

The study of Language leads to a similar conclusion. 
Indeed, it is difficult to accept any other theory of the popu¬ 
lation of the globe than the one which places the original 
common home of man in Central Asia. 

In Hindustan these early settlers found a comfortable 

(2) According to Berghaus, 31.2 are Buddhists, and 13.4 are Brah- 
minists. 

(3) It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that Biblical criticism 
has decided the book of Judges to be the oldest book in the Bible, and 
this could not have been written before the thirteenth century B.C. 

(4) If we accept the Biblical Chronology we must dispute its Anthro¬ 
pology, for there are representations (dating 2000 years B.C.) of Egyp¬ 
tian Mngs employing negro soldiers, and no one has been rash enough to 
affirm that a thousand, or even two thousand, years would have been 
sufficient for peopling the world with two distinct races emanating from 
a single pair! 


12 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


home. The soil is exceedingly fertile, and would thus offer 
inducements to a people who knew little of agriculture, and 
who lacked the implements without which it is impossible in 
colder climates to procure from the land an adequate return. 
Here, under a tropical sun, the settlers must have multiplied 
exceedingly. Away from the world, as it were, the centuries 
must have seen them spreading over their peninsula, with 
few daily cares, and comparatively free from invasion. 

The exact age of the Indian nation cannot now be ascer¬ 
tained ; its sacred language (the Sanskrit), and the internal 
evidence of its sacred literature (which are India’s and the 
world’s oldest books), point to a very high antiquity. Owing to 
its remoteness, however, from the centres of ancient civiliza¬ 
tion (Greece and Rome), India seems to have been lost to the 
world for ages, and with the exception of the dates of one 
or two invasions, its history before the year looo of our era 
is almost a blank. From its literature we are enabled in 
some slight measure to form an idea of its inhabitants and 
their customs; but India lacks, and ever will lack, such a 
history as historians have been enabled to write of Rome 
and Greece. 

Nevertheless, when we remember that till the year i8i8, 
when James Mill wrote his History of India, but little or 
nothing was known of that mighty empire, we have reason to 
congratulate ourselves that we now know so much. 

A few facts concerning India may help us the better to 
understand its literature. India was not so entirely cut off 
from the knowledge of distant nations but that ideas of its 
wealth had suggested to ambitious rulers the conquest of its 
inhabitants. Five hundred and twelve years before our era, 
Darius Hystaspes led his hosts into India, and 185 years 
later (327 B.C.) Alexander the Insatiable attempted its sub¬ 
jugation. But India was far away from the western nations, 
and her servitude could not have been for long; hence it is 



HINDU THOUGHT. 


13 


probable that for long years after Alexander’s visit the 
country enjoyed comparative quiet and peace. The density 
of the population, and the enormous wealth of many of the 
leading families prevent any other conclusion. As commerce 
increased, and the intercourse between nations became more 
and more a necessity, rumours of the wealth of India, and of 
its fertile soil, once more excited the cupidity of the West, 
and about 1004 A.D. the Mahommedans invaded the 
Peninsula. 

The Afghans soon after established their empire in India. 
The history of their princes reads more like a romance than 
a narrative of real facts. Genghis Khan is sa/d to have 
killed fourteen millions of people under the pretence of 
establishing the worship of one god (about 1222 A.D.) 

The Mogul rule followed—its establishment causing much 
bloodshed. Aurungzebe (1658 to 1707) had an immense 
empire. He is spoken of as having brought “ all India under 
one umbrella.” His annual revenue is considered to have 
amounted to thirty-two millions sterling ! 

In 1739 the Persians, under Nadir Shah (or Kouli Khan), 
invaded India, and carried away treasure to the value of a 
hundred and twenty-five millions sterling. The Mogul 
empire broke up soon after, and distinct and independent 
sovereignties were set up by numerous petty princes. With 
each of these the English have had to treat separately j for 
more than a hundred years (1750-1863) war was raging 
between the British forces and one or other of these minor 
potentates. 

The passage to India was discovered by Vasco di Gama 
in 1497, and the first European settlement was founded by 
him five years later, at Cochin, on the south coast. Towards 
the close of the sixteenth century, English traders, stimulated 
by the ventures of the Portuguese, sent an expedition into 
India; and in December, 1600, the first charter was granted 


14 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


to the East India Company. For 213 years this company 
had the exclusive right to trade with India (5). In 1813 the 
trade was thrown open, the Company, however, still govern¬ 
ing the country, aided by a Board of Control (established 
May 10, 1784, and remodelled in 1793). 

The mutiny of 1857 showed the Company’s incapacity to 
deal with such an outbreak, and, indeed, its general inability 
to deal with the concerns of so large an empire. The 
government of India was therefore transferred to the British 
Crown, August 2, 1858. The Board of Control was abol¬ 
ished, and a Council of State for India was instituted instead. 
On November ist of that year Her Majesty was proclaimed 
in the principal towns of India, as Queen of Great Britain 
and the Colonies, &c., the Governor-General of India being 
at the same time proclaimed Viceroy. 

The Overland Route to India was opened in 1838, thus 
considerably shortening the distance between the two coun¬ 
tries. So far as news is concerned the telegraph has, of 
course, shortened it still further. 

Hindustan has an area of 1,309,200 square miles, and a 
population of about two hundred millions. 

(5) The English sovereignty in India was decided by the battle of 
Plassey, 1757. See an interesting article in the British Quarterly Review 
for July, 1875. ^ 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


15 


Chapter IL>--IdolAtry? 

The Hindus are generally regarded as idolaters ; and did 
the belief rest here but little harm would be the result. 
Unfortunately, the common opinion is that' their religious 
books teach them to be so. The great Hindu reformer, 
Ram Mohun Roy, proved conclusively, in a series of tracts 
published some fifty years ago, that this is not the case. 
That many of the Hindus are idolaters is a fact not to be 
disputed; but that they are so in direct opposition to the 
doctrines laid down by the writers of the Vedas is another 
fact. 

The Vedas, it is true, tolerate the worship of the sun, 
and the various forces of nature, but only as a last resort 
for those uneducated persons who are unable to conceive 
of an Invisible God, and who, were they forbidden to expend 
their natural religious energies in this way, would not only be 
destitute of all religious principle, but being without religious 
restraint, might indulge in all kinds of wickedness. The 
Upanishads of the Vedas are particularly careful to assign this 
as the sole reason for their toleration of idolatry, and over 
and over again insist that idol-worship must be considered 
only as a means to an end ; that it must be given up, and a 
purer and less materialistic religion adopted; for “eternal 
beatitude ” is not to be obtained save but by the knowledge 
of the Supreme Being (6). 

Idolatry, moreover, does not consist solely in the worship 
of natural phenomena or graven images; it is the transfer¬ 
ence of that homage and reverence due to the Creator to 

(6) See the Moonduk XTpanishad of the At’harva Ved; the C4na 
TJpanishad of the SsCma Ved; the Ish Upanishad of the Yaga Ved. 
Most of the quotations from the Upanishads are given as translated by 
the Eajah Bam Mohun Boy. 


HINDU THOUGH!*. 


i6 

some minor object or objects. Is there really any difference 
between the worshipping of idols of wood and stone, and 
the bowing down to those less apparent, but none the less 
real, gods—mammon and vice? While we should, naturally 
I suppose, resent being called a nation of idolaters, it seems 
quite in propriety so to style foreign peoples, whose idola¬ 
try” after all is only less abstract than our own, and perhaps 
to a well-regulated mind, not quite so repulsive ! With us 
the absorbing pursuit of wealth and pleasure deprave the 
mind, and prevent the free exercise of those generous sym¬ 
pathies which by their occasional appearance prove themselves 
to be a portion of our humanity. 

With the “ idolatrous” Hindu, however, the case is differ¬ 
ent; though, as Mr. Mittra writes, ''few rules, if any, are 
purely civil or social; everything is religion, and religion is 
in everything ” (7), yet the nature of even this poor religion 
is not so soul-destroying as the other, because it does not 
bind the intellect and heart to the eminently selfish objects 
which here in the west seem to be the aim of existence. 

If, as Mr. Carlyle tersely puts it. Idolatry is only more 
Idolatrous, to which of the nations of the earth shall we 
award the palm ? 

bfor does the theological system of India compare unfa¬ 
vourably with the theological systems of Europe. If in the 
case of Hindus the primitive simplicity of their gospel has 
been abandoned, so also has this been the case with the 
Christians. No sooner did it appear that the fears and 
hopes of the multitude might be made subservient to the 
promotion and aggrandisement of one particular class, than 
this class—the Brahmans in India and the priests in Chris¬ 
tendom—at once set to work to keep all others in ignorance. 
The reading of the Vedas, as well as the reading of the Bible, 


(7) Journal of the National Indian Association forT871, p. 127^ 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


17 


was strictly prohibited to the laity; vexatious rites and cere¬ 
monies were imposed, and their due observance insisted 
upon under threats of future transmigration or final damna¬ 
tion; such rites and ceremonies, moreover, being quite 
unacceptable to the Deity unless performed by a priest. Is 
it to be wondered that alike in India and in Europe such 
giant superstitions should have grown up and flourished, 
keeping the ^‘people'’ in gross moral darkness, and its 
natural accompaniment, sin ? 

In Europe, the younger civilization, natural causes led, in 
the sixteenth century, to the Reformation. In India those 
natural causes were wanting, or at least not strong enough 
for a complete revolution. Contact with the thought of other 
nations is now, however, doing what Papal abuses did here. 
It was too late in the world’s history for the Christian laity 
to be trodden so completely under foot as were the people 
of Hindustan. 

The system of caste, which finds no support in the 
Vedas (8), was one great engine by which the Brahmans 
ensured the moral slavery of the Hindus. The laws of 
Manu lay down most minute distinctions of caste, and it is 
in these that the Brahmans find the support which the Vedas 
do not afford. These laws were evidently written by the 
priestly class, and as they are allowed to be read by the laity, 
no hope exists of the Hindus throwing off these arbitrary 
distinctions unless particular and constant referenceus made 
to the absence of all such regulations in the Vedas—to 
which even the Brahmans admit the Institutes of Manu are 
only secondary. 

When caste was instituted the Brahmans were placed at 
the top of the list as the spiritual guides of the people. 


(8) There is but one text in the Vedas where caste is mentioned, and 
Max Muller considers this text as an interpolation. 


B 







i8 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


There were three other castes, and all four classes were sub¬ 
divided into minor ones. 

The rules were very stringent;—no class was permitted to 
marry into another; a high-class Brahman considered himself 
polluted if the shadow of one of the lowest caste fell upon 
him, while even the low-class Sudra threw away his working 
utensils if a Brahman stepped into his boat (9). 

No occupation of daily life was free from vexatious 
and injurious interference; each individual was com¬ 
pelled to follow the calling of the particular class into 
which he was bom, whether he had an inclination or not for 
that calling. The son of a Brahman must be a Brahman, or 
priest, whatever his character might be ; and the son of a 
painter must be a painter even if he had not the slightest 
interest in art! 

Max Muller thinks these arrangements were fraught with 
benefit to the classes concerned, saying, that where a 
general system of education was wanting, a child’s best 
instructor was his parent, and that parent could best 
instruct his child in his own calling. This, I think, is a I 
mistake; for the development of the human mind is best 
left unfettered; things will right themselves if left alone; 
nature herself is the best physician. It cannot be disputed 
that in the matter in question one custom re-acted on the 
other, and where it was regarded as quite sufficient for a 
parent to educate his offspring, no need was felt for a more : 
general system of education. \ 

But even in our own civilization, if social distinctions are ! 
not observed with such minute detail, yet we cannot hold : 
ourselves altogether blameless. It is true there is growing 
up a strong conviction that nobleness of nature is better than 

(9) See Max Muller’s interesting Chapter on Caste, in volume ii. of 
“ Chips from a German Workshop.” 





HINDU THOUGHT. 


19 


nobleness of birth; that wealth of learning surpasses, in the 
the happiness it affords, wealth of money; and that the 
possession of rare virtue is far superior to the possession of 
the rarest gem. But this conviction is at present confined 
to a few liberal thinkers. Among the many, rank, influence, 
and wealth, on the one hand, and plebeian birth, obscurity, 
and poverty on the other, are the grand distinctions : men 
are to be regarded as despised according as they possess the 
one or the other. 

The Ancient Books of the Hindus, to which more or less 
of authority belongs, are the following. They are enumer¬ 
ated in the order of their worth:— 

The Vedas. 

The Laws (or Institutes) of Manu. 

Six Systems of Philosophy. 

The Puranas (or Legendary History of India). 

The Tantras (or Ceremonial Discourses). 

Of these some, notably the Puranas, are of modern date. 
The Vedas are the oldest of the books, but their date is 
very uncertain. They do not date certainly later than 1500 
years B.C., while it is probable that the Rig Veda (the most 
ancient of them all goes back centuries earlier than this, for 
reasons to be stated hereafter. 

There are four Vedas: — The Rig (or Rich); the 
Ujur, sometimes spelt Yagur; the Sama; and the At’harva 
Ved. 

Veda (Greek, oida) signifies knowledge; and this term 
is frequently applied by the Hindus to all their sacred 
literature. Rig, or Rich, means to praise, or to celebrate; 
and the Rig-Veda contains a collection of hymns in honour 
of different divinities, most of them, however, being ad¬ 
dressed to Agni and Indra. This collection is called the 
Rig-Veda Sanhita, and is entirely in poetry; there are ten 







20 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


books, and the number of the hymns is about 1028 (10), 
Besides the Sanhita the Rig-Veda comprises some prose 
writings—the Brahmans and Sutras—^giving information as 
to the proper use of the hymns, &c. These, however, are 
later additions, composed when the real meaning of the 
ancient hymns was lost, or obscured by changes in lan¬ 
guage, &c. 

The Ujur Veda seems to have been designed as a Ritual. 
It contains a few prayers; but they are brief, and in prose. 

The Sama Veda (see remark on this Veda in the Appen¬ 
dix) is described by Professor Wilson a* little better than a 
re-cast of the Rig-Veda, while the At’harva Veda is a later 
supplement to the same Veda. 

Besides the hymns and prayers to various deities (which 
are always the portions of the Vedas), there are treatises 
on Astronomy, Medicine, Arms, Grammar, and various Arts 
and Sciences. There are also some valuable philosophical 
and theological writings called Upanishads. 

It would appear that soon after the division into castes took 
place in India the class whose business it was to defend and 
rule the country caused a revolt by its despotic government. 
A fresh division took place, and the legislative portion was 
separated from the executive. The native writer from whom 
I quote says that centuries of peace followed, during which 
the Brahmans devoted themselves to scientific and philoso¬ 
phical pursuits (in other words to writing the additional 
matter for the Vedas) and religious austerities. “ The sages 
“ of India made religion, logic, moral philosophy, and psycho- 
logy their special studies; their enquiries are characterised 
by the most subtle and acute logic; their physical wants 
“ were supplied by the fertile soil, and their leisure (of which 

(10) This number is given by Max Muller. Professor Wilson, who 
published a translation of the Eig-Veda Sanhita in 1850, says there are 
1000 Sdktas, or 10,000 stanzas. 



HINDU THOUGHT. 


21 


they had plenty, from the absence of outward pressure) 
was bestowed upon abstruse spiritual questions; but man’s 
material welfare and the augmentation of his earthly power 
were hardly considered” (ii). To these Upanishads we 
shall return presently. 

The consideration of the hymns of the Rig-Veda lead us to 
speculations concerning the origin of man, and his then mental 
and moral condition, If we accept the theory of evolution, 
we shall at once see a harmonious whole. The Rig-Veda 
Sanhita will then be regarded as the earliest authentic record 
of our race, revealing to us the modes in which the mys¬ 
teries of nature unfolded themselves to the wondering eyes 
of primitive man. In the various hymns we shall find num¬ 
erous threads of philosophy, which, while running parallel 
with the stream of legend and poetry (12), each satisfying a 
different want of the human soul, found no resting-place 
until time and opportunity presented themselves to the 
sages for the embodying their products of thought in the 
Upanishads. In these treatises the Supreme Being is spoken 
of as One:—“ Space his ears, the Vedas his speech, the 
world his intellect, the earth his feet, while he is the soul 
of the whole universe” (13). God is eternal amidst the 
perishable universe; he is but one ; he is superior to 
‘‘ nature” (14). 

Accustomed as we are to regard the Israelites as the only 
nation of antiquity to whom a divine revelation was made, 
these extracts from the sacred books of the Hindu nation 
must appear very startling. In the early (15) books of a 

(11) A convincing proof that all sciences are related, and that where a 
pkilosopher is shut out from the world, that world itself must be a 
loser! 

(12) See Max Muller in Contemporary Review, December, 1871. 

(13) Moonduk Upanishad. 

(14) Kut’h Upanishad (Ujur Veda). 

(15) 1280 B.C., when, according to Sir William Jones, the Laws of 
Manu were written ; but no dates can be fixed with certainty. 




22 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


nation now given to idolatry, do we find high and pure mono¬ 
theistic conceptions of the God of heaven and earth ! 

If upon the other hand we accept the Mosaic narrative of 
the creation of man, and the popular belief that man was at 
his creation endowed with an insight into divine things, we 
have to account for the falling away from the original know¬ 
ledge, and the adoption of nature-worship in its place, and 
then for the re-assumption afterwards of the primitive reve¬ 
lation. 

But we have, in language itself, a conclusive proof that 
the first speech of man was exceedingly simple—a few 
roots sufficing, with various affixes, to make his wants and 
unsophisticated thoughts known to his fellows. Language 
has grown, and thought has grown, and it is only reasonable 
to conclude that man’s conceptions of the Infinite that sur¬ 
rounds him have grown likewise. 

Let us once rid ourselves of an implicit faith in the neces¬ 
sary truth of the associations with which education, and a 
blind reliance on the verbal inspiration of the Jewish Scrip¬ 
tures, have invested the first appearance of man upon the 
earth, and we shall at once see the force of the argument. 
But if we believe that man was created with all his bodily 
powers in a state of perfection, we must admit that Dr. 
Dollinger has a show of reason on his side when he states 
his conviction that “man in his primeval innocence was 
“ enabled to conceive of the deity as a pure, spiritual, super- 
“ natural, and infinite Being, distinct from the world and 
“ exalted above it; that man lost this conception, and the 
“ yearning for something in its place led to the deification of 

external nature, the worship of the elements coming first.” 

Mr. Cox (author of “ The Aryan Mythology”) thinks the 
Being who placed man in the world would not have left him 
wholly to himself, though he admits this does not determine 
the amount of knowledge imparted to him. 




HINDU THOUGHT. 


23 


It is strange these two writers (though they differ from 
each other)'should not have seen the fatal objection to their 
theory which lies in the fact, that if the Creator thought it 
necessary and kind to reveal himself in some measure, 
however slight, to the first family, it was just as necessary, 
and would have been much kinder, to give his creatures sucfe 
a sufficient revelation, or such strong spiritual natures, as to 
render backsliding, especially so great and lamentable a 
backsliding, impossible! 



Chapter III.— nNature-Worship and the Origin of 
Mythology. 

Let us examine some of these hymns from the Rig-Veda 
Sanhita—hymns addressed for the most part to Agni and 
Indra (the deities of fire and the firmament, or the sun), a 
few being in praise of the Maruts, or Winds ; the Aswins, or 
Sons of the Sun ; Ushas, the personified Dawn; &c. 

“ I declare the valorous deeds of Indra, which the thun- 
‘‘ derer has achieved. He clove the cloud; he cast the 
“ waters down (to the earth); he broke (a way) for the 
‘‘ torrents of the mountains. He clove the cloud j seek- 
‘‘ ing refuge in the mountain; ... the flowing waters 
“ quickly hastened to the ocean, like cows to their calves.” 

‘‘ Ushas nourishing (all), comes daily like a matron, the 
directress (of household duties) conducting all transient 
creatures to decay ; at her coming each biped stirs, she 
wakes up the birds. She animates the diligent, and sends 
‘‘ clients (to their patrons). This auspicious Ushas has har- 
nessed her (vehicles) from afar, above the rising of the sun; 
and she comes gloriously upon man with a hundred 
chariots.” 

I Agni is said to be within the waters, within woods, and 
within all moveable and immoveable things; immortal, 
and performing pious acts, like a benevolent (prince) 
among his people.” 

’ “ The spacious chariot of the graceful (Dawn) has been 
“ harnessed; the immortal gods have ascended it, the noble 
and all-pervading Ushas has risen up from the darkness, 



HINDU THOUGHT. 


bringing health to human habitations. She, the daughter 
'' of heaven, is beheld in the East—gracious, and arrayed 
in light; she travels steadily along the path of the Sun, as 
if cognisant of its pleasure” (i6). 

The Dawn comes near to him j she expires as soon as 
“ he begins to breathe—the mighty one irradiates the sky.” 

The Dawn is looked upon as a particular friend of man. 
It does not despise the small or the great ”; it “ brings 
‘‘ wealth,” and is always the same, immortal, divine—does 
not grow old.” 

“ Shining forth, he rises from the lap of the Dawn, praised 
'' by singers; he, my God Savitar (the Sun), stepped forth ; 

he never misses the same place.” How long is it that 
“ the Dawns have risen ? How long will they rise ? To us 
“ she (Ushas) is now visible, and they approach who will 
behold her in after times.” 

Are we not reminded of the equally beautiful descriptions 
of the sun coming out of his chamber, rejoicing as a strong 
man to run his race of the heavenly bodies whose “ line 
is gone out into all the earth, who have neither speech nor 
language, whose voice is not heard ” ; of the moon that 
walketh in brightness,” &c., to be found in our Bible? 
The same cause which operated in the case of the writers of 
the Vedas operated also in the case of the writers of the 
Psalms and the Book of Job. It may safely be affirmed that 
mankind separated the then undivided community 
had a common stock of phrases embodying its wondering 
and childlike admiration of natural phenomena—phrases 
which, after the dispersion, became modified and even 
recast by new aspects of nature and new circumstances of 
life. Max Muller has shown this must have been the case 

(16) These three extracts are from Professor Wilson’s Translation of 
the “Rig-Veda Sanhita, 1850.” The next two are from Max Muller’s 
“ Chips, etc.” While for the last two I am indebted to Mr. Cox’s 
“ Aryan Mythology.” 




26 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


(17) in a very convincing manner. He says—Before the j 
nations separated, there existed a root Svar or Sval, signify- ; | 
ing to warm or to glitter : words compounded from this root ; : 
are to be met with in the old languages. A Sanskrit word ' 

(18) for the sun—Savitar—we have just met with ; then there 
is the Greek word selas^ or splendour, and sUena, the moon; 
in Latin we have sol^ the sun; and so on. 

The sun must have been an object of awe to primeval j 
men. They saw him rise in the East, and spoke of him as ’ 
being born of the night; or as having overcome the powers i 
of darkness; he ushered in the Dawn, who then fled from M 
his approach—his beloved though she was; even the light : i 
summer clouds, cows, as they were figuratively called, were 
chased away, and he, the Brilliant, the Awakener, the i:| 
Destroyer, the Warmer, the Ruler, entered upon his course. 

As one great source of heat the Sun was the Life-giver, the i. 
Life-Preserver; and if Fire was so necessary to them (for ; 
cooking purposes, &c.,) as to merit numberless hymns in its 'j 
honour, so too was the Bright Sun, without whose cheering ’ 
rays it was well known vegetable life would soon die out. 
Plence the hymns to Indra about equal in number the hymns 
to Agni. As all life seemed to be called into fresh existence . ’i 
day by day, it was natural that the Sun, whose rising was j 
the signal for the day’s duties to commence, should be | 
credited with a life-imparting agency. All Life appeared to } 
depend for its life upon heat; death was cold; it was impossi- '! 
ble to sustain life without some degree of warmth, and so j 
every living thing was believed to contain some warmth (an j 

(17) Max Miiller, however, hesitates to trace man back to one stock ; he ] 

speaks of three races—the Aryan, Semitic, and Turanian; but these ] 
three evidently had a common, if now untraceable, origin. 1 

(18) The Sun seems to have had as many names as it has characteris- ! 
tics ; to the duplex meanings most of the old roots are to be traced 
chiefly the immense number and extraordinary character of the myths ^ 
respecting the sun, etc. 






HINDU THOUGHT. 


27 


early presentation of the doctrine of Latent Heat?), and this 
principle, or power, of nature was personified under the title 
of Agni. 

But to return to the Sun. Toward evening, after having 
toiled hard all day for men, not for himself (19), he meets 
once more, in the twilight, with his beloved Ushas (now the 
Gloaming). A little later and a terrible struggle takes place ; 
he has to fight with ' the serpents of the night, and in the 
midst of the conflict he, the friend of mankind, is lost to 
sight. During the hours of darkness he is supposed to be 
wrestling for the mastery, and this he eventually obtains, 
rising glorious on the following morn. 

A recent writer (20) has described Poetry as imagination 
set to the music of metre. If to European culture we must 
look for reason and close argument, it is to Asia we must 
turn for some of the noblest flights of the imagination. It is 
when reading these old-fashioned songs that the full force of 
Macaulay’s statement is felt. Writing of Milton the histor¬ 
ian says, the marvel lies not in the author of ‘‘Paradise 
Lost,” writing so sublimely as he did in the ea^'Iy days of mod¬ 
ern civilization, but because it was so late in our country’s 
history! The early days of a people are those in which 
Poetry of the highest order is most likely to be written. 
“ Nations,” writes Macaulay, “ like individuals, first perceive, 
“ and then abstract—they advance from particular images to 
“ general terms. Hence the vocabulary of an enlightened 
“ society is philosophical, that of a half-civilized people is 
“ poetical ” (21). Max Miiller describes the hymns of the 
Rig-Veda as “ brightest-dew of nature’s own poetry,” while 

(19) In Sanskrit all names are either masculine or feminine. ^ Wlien 
the Sun was named the noun chanced to have a masculine termination, 
so it is always “ he” in these hymns. 

(20) Rev. Paxton Hood. 

(21) Macaulay’s Essay on Milton,—page 3 of Longman’s reprint, 1869. 


28 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


Professor Wilson says, '‘the variety and richness of the 
“ metre of the Rig-Veda hymns evince an extraordinary 

cultivation of rhythmical contrivance”; in other words, 
bearing out Macaulay’s argument. The early language of 
a people lends itself most readily to the requirements of 
the poet. 

If we accept the development theory of man’s nature, we 
of course see that natural phenomena would be the first 
objects to attract his attention, so that it would be perfectly 
natural for him to see in the forces of nature some mysterious 
powers or agencies at work, the essence of which he could 
not then divine, but which he knew were external to himself, 
calling up in his breast feelings of insecurity and depend¬ 
ence on the one hand, and of hope and joy on the other (22). 
What more interesting study can there be than that of trac¬ 
ing the growth of the religious sentiment in our race ? 

With the exception that "his natural cause” was unknown 
in those primitive times, the lines of Shakspere afford a 
truthful picture of the mode in which natural phenomena 
were treated :— 

“No natural exhalation in the sky. 

No ’scape of nature, no distemper’d day, 

No common wind, nor custom^d event, 

But they will pluck away his natural cause. 

And call them motions, prodigies, and signs. 

Abortions, presages, and tongues of heaven.” 

Let it not be supposed, however, that in this worship of 
the Fire, the Sun, and various other deities, any very 
absurd rites and ceremonies were observed. On the con¬ 
trary, the worship seems to have been as simple as it well 

(22) This view is opposed to tnat held by Mr. Cox, who believes Myth¬ 
ology did not spring from any religious conviction—thatna ture-worship 
was not indulged in when the myths were first originated, only taking 
place when the primary meanings of the myths were forgotten. Max 
Muller, however, has this sentence in vol ii. (pp. 100 and 101) of “ Chips,” 
etc., “ Sunrise inspired the first prayers,” and I believe he is right. 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


29 


could be. Hardly anywhere do we find more than the 
presentation, by Fire, of clarified butter and the juice of the 
Soma plant prescribed. The form of worship was strictly 
patriarchal and domestic; for though mention is made of 
priests, yet it was not absolutely necessary that the offering 
should be made by their agency. Still there is the thin end 
of the priestly wedge, and it was driven home with a ven¬ 
geance in after years, as we shall presently see ! 

The deities were always invoked at sunrise. One hymn 
to Ushas ran thus:—“Mother of the gods, rival of Aditi, 
“ illuminator of the sacrifice, mighty Ushas, shine forth; 
“ approving of our prayer, dawn upon us.” Ushas is here 
alluded to as mother of the gods and rival to Aditi. The 
explanation of this apparent contradiction will also serve to 
make clear how it was that in Mythology, especially in the 
later (Egyptian, Greek, &c.) Mythologies, the characteristics 
and exploits of various deities seem to change about j and 
how one god is sometimes the husband, and sometimes the 
son of the same goddess. 

When the parentage of the gods was first arranged, Aditi, 
the Earth, was said to be their mother. Afterwards, as the 
imagination of the early poets grew by what it fed on (as it 
was in its nature to do), the Dawn, which called man to his 
religious duties, was also spoken of as indirectly awaking the 
gods by the worship then offered. But it is a mother’s plea¬ 
sure to awake her children; hence the Dawn was figuratively 
regarded as the mother of the deities. Again, inasmuch as 
the Dawn ushered in the morning; brought to light the 
passing clouds ; gave birth, as it were, to the Sun; she was 
in this sense, too, the parent of a god, of whom, in another 
sense, she was the Beloved—the Bride ! 

Another old root was krn, signifying “to put forth.” The 
splendid sun “ put forth ” rays of light, hence he was called 
kronos; the Bull “put forth” horns, and he was noted for 







30 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


his great strength. Soon both the Sun and the Bull were | 
called Horned-Ones. The same word (Shur or Tur) being 
used both for Bull and Prince, the Horned Man-bull, so 
frequently to be seen on sculptures from Nineveh, came to 
be employed as a symbol of a mighty ruler or prince. 

A passage in Tertullian tells us that Saturn was the first 
before all others to wear a crown,” so that our word crown 
(23) is evidently derived from the old root which represented 
the idea of the sun putting fprth rays of light, and the bull 
its horns. 

Saturn was another name given to the Sun by the primi¬ 
tive observers of nature. The sun was hidden from their 
gaze after he had sunk in the west, so they called him Satur, 
or Stur, the hidden one. Thus objects came to have differ¬ 
ent names for each one of their peculiarities ! 

It must not, however, be taken for granted that the whole 
of the Ancient Mythology had its origin in the observance of 
Natural Phenomena. It is highly probable that later gener¬ 
ations, to whom had descended traditions of the exploits of 
their ancestors, came to regard these same ancestors as 
elevated from the common run of mankind—as, in fact, 
heroes; not at first exactly divine, and yet somewhat supe¬ 
rior to themselves (24). 

We know how in later days—and days not very remote 
from the present!—^wonderful stories have gathered round 
noted individuals. 

Was Rome—warlike, imperial Rome—founded by an 
ordinary man in an ordinary manner ? No; so common an 
origin the seven-hilled city could not have had. Two 
brothers left exposed, and owing their very lives’-blood to 
the tender mercies of a wolf, laid the foundations of the 

(23) Primitive crowns usually had horns. 

(24) What is the meaning of “ sons of God ” in Genesis vi. 2 ? 



HINDU THOUGHT. 


31 


I Eternal Empire that one day was to give laws to the whole 
i world ! 

And so it has ever been; and most of all, we may be 
j sure, was it so in. the morning of the world, when man 
wanted experience to guide him, and science to teach him. 

; We cannot doubt but that in these essentially Solar myths 
are incorporated legendary tales of the doings of the first 
i men. 





Chapter IV.— -Origin of Religion.—The Upanishads. 

Upon the other hand, while firmly believing that the 
development (of man’s mental and moral powers, if not of 
his physical nature) theory is the most rational one to adopt, 
it does not necessarily follow that if we accept the other 
theory—viz., the creation of man by a special divine act, in 
full possession of those mental and moral qualities necessary 
for his guidance here, together with a revelation of divine 
mysteries,—it does not necessarily follow, I say, that these 
hymns are to be regarded as idolatrous. Rather then should 
we attribute them to a highly-wrought imagination, that, 
were it not for the higher revelation, would see in the glories 
of the Earth, Sun, and Sky fit objects of awe and reverence. 
Nay more, which did find in these same glories minor mani¬ 
festations of the Great Spirit who ruled over all. 

Again; did facts, in our opinion, warrant our believing 
that man was, in the very beginning of his history, endowed 
with a divinely-imparted knowledge of the Divine, we should 
argue from historical facts of later civilizations that, parallel 
with these seemingly pantheistic ideas, there was probably 
a stream of correct theology also running—a stream which, 
in this particular case, did not become stereotyped till after 
the Vedas had assumed a written form. 

Take, for instance, the Greek civilization, in whose litera¬ 
ture was to be found much wilder stories of the gods than 
any India ever afforded. Though both had a common 
origin, the details varied, as did the peoples in their circum- 







HINDU THOUGHT. 


33 


stances and surroundings. We cannot assert that the 
Greeks had no other religious belief than the Iliad is sup¬ 
posed to teach. The tales related there of Priam and 
Achilles, and other heroes, were too gross and sensualistic 
to be the generally-received opinions of a people whose 
civilization was so refined concerning their gods. 

Epicharmos, pupil of Pythagoras (B.C. 540), Empedokles, 
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, all regarded these stories as 
simply myths, and forestalled the philologists of to-day by 
taking them to be poetical and highly-imaginative narratives 
of the daily course of the sun through the heavens, &c. 

Zenophanes did not hesitate to say there was but one 
God, and He was unlike mortals both in form and in thought. 
Nor can it be objected that these men were but few—that 
most, if not all, of their countrymen believed in the truth of 
those wretched (25) narratives, and acknowledged as their 
gods the characters described in the Iliad and in the popu¬ 
lar Mythology. Some of the more uneducated may perhaps 
have believed in them, if indeed the uneducated may be 
said to believe in anything, save themselves! Manifestly, it 
is as unfair to credit the Greek nation with a faith in gods 
who devoured their own offspring, and who committed 
incest, because so few writings have come down to us con¬ 
demnatory of such faith, as it would be to charge English¬ 
men with a want of faith in virtue because there are so few 
writers, in comparison with the population^ who descant upon 
such themes. The fact of the writings which have come 
down to us being unanimously in favour of a rational 
religion should convince us that those who believed other¬ 
wise formed neither the bulk nor the influential portion of 
the nation. 

I must admit that these coarse stories must to a cer- 
( 25 ) Wretched only when regarded as the religious beliefs of a nation, 

c 


34 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


tain extent have influenced the popular beliefs; and 
the possibility, or almost certainty, of 'ancestral exploits 
having been incorporated with what were once palpable solar 
myths, doubtless lent a sort of authority and sacredness to ; 
narratives whose original meanings were forgotten. But the 
mere fact of these meanings having been forgotten warrant j 
me in thinking that, after all, the stories were but tradition to ; 
the bulk of the people, and myths to the uneducated portion 
who were unable to inravel them; and for this reason—had 
these improbable stories been the religion, say of the Greeks, 
would they not have been tended with so much zeal as to 
have made it unsafe for the philosophers to expose their j 
absurdity ? Here there were no, or but few, priests, and the 
state was without a settled theology; the greatest freedom j 
was allowed to individual thinkers; and as there were no j 
priestly interests at stake, and as political factions made no 
attempt to drag such matters into their disputes, ample 
opportunity was afforded for the gradual broadening of the I 
conceptions of the Supreme, and for the cultivation of all 
manly virtues. It is simply impossible to believe that the j 

revolting tales related of the heroes of Mythology were I 

accepted in their integrity as actual deeds performed by the j 
gods to whom worship and the highest reverence of the soul j 
were to be paid ! i 

And cannot we learn a lesson here ? The philosophy of 
those pre-Christian times is now regarded very complacently 
by theologians whose present conceptions of the Deity either 
owe somewhat of their form, or else are in themselves some¬ 
what similar, to those which resulted from the refining 
process carried on by such thinkers as Socrates, Plato, and 
others. Theologians, however, who now think perfection 
has been obtained, that knowledge of God can no further go 
here, and who therefore brand as infidels the philosophers 




HINDU THOUGHT. 


35 


of the present day, who still keep up the refiner’s fire, en¬ 
deavouring to separate the pure metal from the dross ! 

How true was the complaint of the old Greek philosopher, 
Zenophanes (about B.C. 500), that men described their 
gods as possessing the same mind, and voice, and figure, as 
they themselves possessed. The Ethiopians and Thracians 
pictured their gods as respectively black with flat noses, and 
red-haired with blue eyes. He then adds, with keen irony, 
“ Oxen anc lions, could they but draw, would draw their 
“gods like oxen and lions !” 

Max Muller says that before the Aryan family split up 
into the various sections which afterwards became the Greek, 
Latin, German, and Indian nations, a universal Deity had 
been conceived of, whom, for want of a better name, was 
called after the sky—the bright blue sky, so high above— 
Dyaus; to which was soon joined the endearing epithet of 
Father—Dyaus-Pitar, the Heaven-Father. From this term 
the various Aryan nations derived their name for the Supreme 
Being—the Greeks, Zeu Pater (of whom the poet Aratus 
said, “ we are his offspring”); the Latins, Jupiter ; &c. 

This and other reasons compel us to regard the Vedic 
hymns as poetry. An old Persian proverb says, “there is 
more merit in understanding poetry than in composing it.” 
Let us not find in the Hindu books nought but denials of 
belief in one true God, and a setting up of inanimate objects 
as deities to be worshipped, because in these lovely hymns 
the early poets of our race personified the solemn mysteries 
of Nature, which required the genius of a later age to 
unravel! 

But years rolled on, and the Upanishads were written. 
In them we find most exalted notions of the Great Ruler ot 
the Universe—notions so exalted as to render it highly 
improbable that the nature-worship of the Sanhitas could 


36 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


have obtained for long, after man had once used his rea¬ 
soning powers. 

The Vedas begin with the word Om, and this of itself is . 
sufficient to prove their high intrinsic worth. Om is the 
most sacred name of the Most High, and the reading of the 
Vedas is to be prefaced by pronouncing this name together 
with Bhooh Bhoovah Swah (Earth, Space, and Heaven—all 
of which were regarded as parts of the Supreme Being. 
See page 20), and the Gayutree. By doing this, and reflect¬ 
ing on their meaning the grace of God is enjoyed, and His 
worship most fitly performed (25). 

The Gayutree is as follows :— 

Tiit Suvitoor vurenyum, 

Bhurgo devusyu dheemuhi, 

Dhiyo yo nuh pruchoduyat.” 

We meditate on that Supreme Spirit of the Splendid Sun, 
who directs our understandingsor as paraphrased by Sir 
William Jones—“Let us adore the supremacy of that 
“ Divine Sun, the Godhead who illuminates all, who re-creates 
“ all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, 

“ whom we invoke to direct our understandings aright in 
“ our progress towards his holy seat f or again, as translated 
by Colebrook—“ Let us meditate on the adorable light of 
“ the Divine Creator; may He rouse our minds.” 

The Upanishads tell us that the Supreme Being is percep¬ 
tible only by intellect, that he is known to man as the 
origin of intellect, and those who think of Him as such 
are possessed of the real notion of God. “ Only he whose 
“ mind is purified by the light of true knowledge, through 

(26) Ram Mohun Roy has pointed out the similarity in sound between 
OM and ON of Exodus III. 14 (Septuagint Version).— Ego eimi on. Is 
there any connection between this Hindu symbol of the Supreme Being 
and the Egyptian ON (the Sun) ? 



HINDU THOUGHT. 


37 


incessant contemplation, perceives the most pure God. 
The mind being perfectly freed from impurity, God, who 
spreads over the mind and all the senses, imparts a know- 
“ ledge of Himself to the heart.” The Moonduk Upanishad, 
from which this is taken, has this also—“ A pious votary of 
“ God obtains whatever division of the world, and whatever 
desirable object he may wish for himself or for another : 

‘‘ therefore anyone who is desirous of honour or advantage 

“ should revere him. A knowledge of God is not acquir- 
‘‘ able from a study of the Vedas; it must be sought after. 

“ No man is deficient in faith.” The similarity between 

these sentiments and the teaching of the Bible generally is 
remarkable ; and while to earnest students the result cannot 
but be the throwing aside of all the factitious authority with 
which the schools have invested the Old and New Testa¬ 
ments, it reinvests those books with a new and more healthy 
interest, as the genuine records of the aspirations of men of 
like passions as ourselves after the solemn Mysteries of the 
Universe ! We need no theory of Inspiration to draw our 
attention to these Jewish philosophies; we feel such theories 
rob the narrative of its most attractive features. 

If the pious Hindu votary was led to believe that worldly 
pleasures, with fame and honour, would follow his successful 
endeavours to know God, the Israelite, too, was reminded that 
of the righteous only could it be said his seed never wanted 
bread, and that long life and children were not the portion 
of the wicked. If in Hinduism those who desired honour 
and advantage were directed to revere the Most High, so in 
Judea were those who wished health and prosperity directed 
to trust in the Lord. Could a pious votary of Brahma 
obtain desirable things for another? so too should the faithful 
prayer of the elders restore the sick to health. Was the 
Hindu told that a knowledge of God must be sought after ? 


38 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


in like manner was the Jew to seek his God if haply he 
might find him, first of all believing that He is ! 

The Cena Upanishad of the Sama-Veda affirms the 
divinity of the Supreme Being alone, and endeavours to 
explain the apparent contradiction between its teachings and 
those of the Veda itself. Plainly discerning the character of 
the hymns, the writer of the Upanishad states they but 
represent the attributes of the Supreme Being under the 
cloak of earthly objects; that their language is poetical and | 
allegorical, and hence the Divine attributes are often repre- ' 
sented as independent existences. The real truth, however, 
seems to be, that the subject-matter of these hymns (proba¬ 
bly the oldest records now in existence of the earliest human 
thought) was floating first as poetry only, and afterwards, 
when purer conceptions of the Deity had been formed, as 
tradition, many centuries before they took their present 
shape. Meanwhile, who can tell the alterations effected in 
them! Philosophy, on the .other hand, does not live by 
tradition, and the Upanishads, written at a later period than 
the Sanhitas, were composed by men who, inheriting a || 
poetical temperament, and a national reverence for the 
sacred books, while at the same time feeling convinced that 
the hymns did not fully describe the majesty of God, con¬ 
ceived this mode of getting out of the difficulty. 

The Cena Upanishad plainly teaches the unity of the 
Supreme Being, and describes the mode in which he is to be i 
worshipped. It explains that the plurality of deities to be 
found in the hymns, and their several characters (the Sun, 
the Fire, the Dawn, &c.), were invented solely for the ] 
benefit of those who were unable to comprehend and adore ' 
an invisible God; evidently thinking that some religion was 
better than none at all. 

All the Upanishads, and the other religious treatises, 
agree in this, that all figures are intended to serve merely ■ 



HINDU THOUGHT. 


39 


as representations of God, who is Himself pure Understand¬ 
ing. . , . , 

The Puranas and Tantras declare again and again that 
God is but One; inasmuch however as He is above man’s 
entire comprehension, and lest those who will not elevate 
their minds, and endeavour to comprehend Him, should 
neglect religion altogether, the divinity of other gods is taught 
and their worship allowed. If we cannot but lament that 
the human mind should so frequently fail of rising to the 
infinite heaven; that it should require some lower symbol of 
the Almighty Creator than his all-pervading Immanence, 
there is consolation in the thought that after all man s highest 
ideal must be his highest God. Even those amongst our¬ 
selves who think they need no object to remind them of the 
Universal Father, have very poor ideas of Him. We cannot 
conceive of God as He is. We each make our own God, 
and worship that. It cannot be otherwise. So, in those 
early centuries, while the Brahmans were enabled, through 
the absence of daily cares, to spend their whole lives in the 
contemplation of the Unseen, the teeming population around 
them failed, but through no fault of their own, to rise to the 
same, heights of devotion. To them God must be described 
in homely terms, and so long as their thoughts, poor though 
they may have been, were directed to some Being superior 
to themselves, it mattered little what their conception of that 
Being was, so long as it was their best. It is impossible to 
say more of Christians. 

I cannot do better than to give some extracts from the 
Upanishads. It will be seen that the spirituality of God is 
their one great theme. And first from the Cena-Upani- 
shad. 

“ No vision can approach Him, no language can describe 

Him, no intellectual power can compass or determine 

Him.” 


40 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


“ If you say, ‘ I know the Supreme Being thoroughly,’ you 
in truth know very little of Him.” 

He who believes he cannot comprehend God (/>., who 
“ is so impressed with God’s infinity and his own littleness) 
“ does in reality know Him.” 

The Kut’h Upanishad says— 

Knowledge and rites (/.e., contemplation resulting in 
knowledge of God, and the offerings prescribed by the 
“ Vedas) both offer themselves to man; knowledge of God 
leads to absorption (in Catholic phraseology, salvation), 
‘‘ but rites which have fruition (hope of rewards) for their 
“ object exclude from the enjoyment of eternal beatitude. 
‘‘ These are entirely opposite to each other.” 

“ The soul is not liable to birth nor death. It is mere 
“ understanding; unborn, eternal, without reduction, un- 
‘‘ changeable. Consider the soul as a rider, the body as a 
‘‘ car, the intellect its driver, the mind as its reins; the 
“ external senses are called the horses, restrained by the 
“mind; external objects are the roads; thus wise men 
“ believe the soul to be united with the body.” 

“ The way to the knowledge of God is considered by 
“ wise men difficult as the passage over the sharp edge of a 
“ razor.” 

“ The soul is of divine origin, by no means different from 
“ its source. Whoever thinks there is variety of intellectual 
“ principle (or duality) undergoes transmigration” (in order 
that he may learn better?). “God himself imparts his 
“ knowledge to the heart that is freed from passion and 
“ desire.” “ Save him who believes in the existence of a 
“ God as the cause of the universe, no one can have a true 
“ notion of that Being. We must acquire first a belief in 
“ God as the origin of all things; and next, a real know- 
“ ledge of him, to wit, that he is incomprehensible. The 
“ means which lead men to acquire knowledge of his 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


41 


existence (contemplation ?) graciously conduct fhem to a 
^ belief in his incomprehensibility.” 

“ The Omnipresent Eternal Spirit should be considered 
totally distinct from matter, and the effects of matter.” 
And from the Ish Upanishad— 

The Supreme Being seems to be distant from those who 
have no wish to attain a knowledge of Him, and near to 
those who do feel a wish to know Him.” 

“ Only One, without a second,” is the invariable descrip¬ 
tion given of the Supreme Being by the Upanishads; and 
most strongly do they insist that none but Him should be 
adored by wise men.” 

The Puranas, &c., echo the same sentiment. The Vishnu 
Purana says—“ The vulgar look for their gods in water (27); 
“ men of more extended knowledge in celestial bodies ; the 
ignorant in wood, brick, and stones; but learned men in 
“ the universal soul.” 

Another writer (in the Sri Bhagavat) writes still more 
strongly—‘‘ He who attributes a Divine nature to earthen 
‘‘ images, and believes in the holiness of water, and who 
“ neglects to contemplate the nature of the soul, is an ass 
‘‘ amongst cows.” 

It must be evident from these extracts that whatever may 
have been the original meaning of the Vedic Sanhitas, and 
however these may have affected the popular religion in 
after days, when the poetical descriptions of natural pheno¬ 
mena had crystallized into (to them) meaningless myths, the 
thinkers of the Upanishad era had as sublime ideas of the 
Almighty God as have ever presented themselves to the 
human mind. Nor did the Rishis (28) consider a know¬ 
ledge of God to be unattainable even by the common 

(27) Water is represented as having originated in fire; and as fire was 
sacred, so water came to be regarded as such. 

(28) Or Saints, as the writers of the Vedas were called. 


42 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


people, else indeed they would not have so unceasingly 
dwelt upon the absolute importance of attaining it, and upon 
the utter worthlessness of mere rites and ceremonies. But 
if such a knowledge of the Supreme Being was difficult to 
attain, then the greater should the exertions be after it! 

Rites, if indulged in, should be regarded but as school¬ 
masters leading to something higher, and “ once a knowledge 
of God attained, no need exists for observing any of the 
ceremonies prescribed by the Shastras.” It is difficult to 
resist the impression that Indian theology did, in some 
measure, colour the Jewish theology (29). Even in these 
early days (of the Vedas) there was doubtless communica¬ 
tion between India and surrounding countries. As time 
rolled cm, and the conquests of Alexander brought distant 
countries into contact with each other, a constant stream of 
travellers must have flowed between the shores of the 
Ganges (Benares) and the cities of learning in the West— 
Antioch, Ephesus, Alexandria, and Rome. In these cities 
the early converts of Christianity must have been brought 
face to face with Oriental philosophies as well as with the 
‘‘ new” faith. In Alexandria, especially, must this strange 
gathering have produced important results. In the third 
century before our era men of all nations met here in order 
that Alexandria might be able to boast of such a library as 
no other city possessed. Here the Old Testament writings, 
and the Avesta also, were translated into Greek ; and we 
may be quite sure the sages employed in these works did 
not lose such a favourable opportunity for discussing their 
several philosophies. 

That the Hindu system of religion, as held by the Hindus 
now, was not affected, is evident from the fact that their 

(29) Though Max Muller thinks otherwise; but see an interesting 
paper on “ The Intermingling of Religions,” in the Atlantic Monthly 
(1871). 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


43 


religious books date prior to this Alexandrian assembly; 
whereas, on the other hand, the Septuagint has come down 
to us as translated under its eclectic influences. Nor did 
Oriental thought end its work then. The subtleties of 
Hindu philosophy permeated the schools, and must have 
leavened the Christian literature itself (30). 

(30) Such men as Gamaliel, for instance, could not have been ignorant 
of Buddhistic ethics. 



Chapter V.—The Laws of Manu. 

The worship of the Vedas was, as I have already stated, 
domestic in its character; no temple and no altar were 
required. Though the head of the family might officiate, 
there was nevertheless a priestly class whose more particular 
duty it was to superintend such worship, and to offer pre¬ 
scribed sacrifices. (Compare, Judges xvii. and xviii.) 

As always happens when one class of a community has 
privileges which the others lack, the privileged priests soon 
began to domineer; and finding it greatly to their advan¬ 
tage to be the spiritual guides of the people, they fostered 
the notion that worship without the presence of a priest was 
unacceptable to the gods. 

They found, moreover, that in order to secure their ac¬ 
quired privileges, it would be desirable to have their authority 
upon a written word which should command the reverence 
and obedience of the people. To this movement is to be 
attributed the Law, or Institutes, of Manu. Here we find 
laid down with great distinctness of detail the rules that 
should be binding on the four castes into which the Hindus 
had by this time been divided. Chief of all was, of course, 
the priestly caste—the Brahmans—who were said to have 
proceeded from the mouth of Brahma (31). They were the 
eldest born, the heirs and possessors of all things. 

(31) Max Muller says Brahma means force, will. But taking into 
account the nature of the narrative given in Manu of the creation, does 
it not seem probable it has also some connection with the Hebrew Kahm, 
the womb ; that is, that both words are derived from a common root, 
meaning womb. Moor, in his Pantheon (Krishna, p. 211), quotes from a 
Hindu sacred book, “the great Brahm is my womb” etc. 








HINDU THOUGHT. 


45 


But the corruption as yet (the Laws were written alout 
1300 years B.C.) was not very great. Manu himself is 
made to say (chapter 2, text i55)> respect and distinction 
are to be paid to a Brahman only in proportion to his know¬ 
ledge and worth. 

“ The soul itself is its own witness ; the soul itself is its 
» own refuge. Offend not thy conscious soul, the supreme 
‘ internal witness of men’' (32). 

“ The chief good here below is in an assemblage of virtue, 

“ wealth, and lawful pleasure.” 

Manu lays great stress upon the sacred Vedic symbol of 
the Most High—Aum or Om, which, it is said, was “ milked” 
from the Vedas. 

Manu was said to be the son or grandson of the great 
Brahma, and to have been the agent by whom Brahma made 
all things. It seems to have been opposed to the philosophy 
then extant (which extolled spirit at the expense of matter) 
to conceive of the Supreme Being as being Mmself concerned 
in the creation of matter. The various deities were therefore 
regarded at this time as so many manifestations of the One 
God who, in the Institutes, is called Brahma. 

In later years Brahma himself was regarded in three 
characters: Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Preserver; 
and Swa, the Destroyer. The deities had, however, so 
many names, and were conceived of under so many aspects, 
that before long it became almost impossible to say exactly 
which was which ! It has been said, indeed, that the gods 
of India outnumber its inhabitants ! 

In Manu we find the Brahmanical cosmogony. The 
Supreme Being with a thought created the waters,^ and 
placed in them a seed which became an egg. In this he 

(32) Compare 1 John iii. 21-“ Beloved, if our heart condemn ns not, 
then have we confidence toward God.” 


46 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


was born himself in the form of Brahma, the great forefather 
of all spirits. 


Great stress is laid upon the value of immemorial law, 
which is said to be transcendent (these old Brahmans were 
wise in their generation!), and is consequent!]' insisted on. 
The authority of the Vedas is rigidly upheld, and he who 
studies them is promised eternal felicity. It must not be 
forgotten though that the Vedas were written in Sanskrit, 
and that this language was no longer the vernacular. More¬ 
over, the Brahmans reserved to themselves the right of 
explaining, and often of reading, them. Women were for¬ 
bidden to look at the texts of the Vedas alone; they might 
only study them under the directions of their husbands, who 
in their turn were instructed by the Brahmans. 

“The most exalted of all sciences is to acquire from 
“ the Upanishads a knowledge of God; this ensures 
“ immortality. Twice-born men may soon acquire endless 
“ felicity.” 

It is curious and instructive to meet in this ancient work 
the phrase “ twice-born.” It refers to the assumption, by 
young Brahmans, of the sacred thread. The words occur 
repeatedly in Manu. 

The doctrine of transmigration is also mentioned in the 
Laws, as well as in the Upanishads. As, however, I shall 
return to this subject when I treat of Buddhism, I will only 
now give one or two extracts from Manu respecting it, 
without commenting on them. 

“ He who frequently performs disinterested acts of wor- 
“ ship becomes for ever exempt from a body composed of 
“ the five elements. He sacrifices his own spirit by fixing it 
“ on the spirit of God.” 

“ The Divine Spirit no doubt produces, by a chain of 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


47 


causes and effects consistent with free-will, the connected 
series of acts performed by embodied souls” (33). 

“ Thus the man who perceives in his own soul the Supreme 
soul present in all creatures, acquires equanimity towards 
‘ them all, and shall be absorbed at last in the highest 
essence, even that of the Almighty himself.” 

The Laws of Manu contain many admirable regulations, 
and strict morality is enjoined. It would be unreasonable, 
however, to find in them principles and sentiments which 
can be the product only of long experience and a high 
civilization. For instance, trial by test is advocated, and 
when an inferior injures a man of superior caste the /ex 
talionis is reverted to. Notwithstanding these faults, the 
Laws of Manu deserve a high place among the world’s 
codes. 

To this period belongs the Zend-avesta, or sacred books 
of the Zoroastrians. Worshippers of the Sun, and Aryan in 
descent (as were the Hindus), this sect seems to have sepa¬ 
rated from the Vedic party—perhaps before the Vedas were 
written; while, indeed, the myths were gradually assuming 
shape; and at last to have produced its own revelation—a 
revelation that was in many respects an improvement upon 
the Brahmanical. Instead of the numerous manifestations 
of the Deity (as in the Upanishads), which, as we have seen, 
came to be regarded as so many distinct deities, Zoroaster 
taught that as Fire was the source of light, and that as that 
element must be in some way connected with the nature of 
the Supreme Being himself, the Sun, as the chief apparent 
source of Fire, was the only object deserving of man’s wor¬ 
ship. 

Many of the doctrines taught in the Zend-avesta are 
similar to those of the Vedas. The followers of Zoroaster 

(33) One system of Hindu philosophy taught that all “ soul” wa?.part 
of the Supreme Spirit, inhabiting human bodies for a time only. 



48 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


are but a small minority of the population bf Hindostan. 
Indeed, Berghaus omits all mention of them in his table, 
showing the percentage of the world’s different religionists ! 
They are known now by the name of Parsis. They are to be 
found mostly in the Bombay Presidency, Their philosophy 
and system of ethics were very excellent. The following are 
two extracts from their book:— 

“ He (the Supreme Being) is without beginning or end. 
He is living, wise, powerful, independent, and just. His 
“ knowledge includes all that is seen or heard, and all that 
“ exists. From Him nothing is hid.” 

“ Among the most resplendent, powerful, and glorious of 
“ His servants, who are free from superior bodies and mat- 
‘‘ ter, there is none God’s enemy or rival, or disobedient, or 
cast down, or annihilated.” 

There is here the old distinction between spirit and matter, 
and a broad catholic spirit of comprehension. A belief in 
one true God, an honest worship of Him, love to all men, 
and a tender regard for dumb animals, which are the distin¬ 
guishing tenets of the Parsis, enable their religion to compare 
favourably with many others which boast of their fancied 
superiority ; and if the Sun is regarded as the manifestation 
of the Most High, it may surely be urged that the luminary 
of day is a far more fitting emblem of God’s majesty and 
impartiality than the poor conception of Him too many of us 
have. That the Zoroastrians do not worship the Sun me 7 'ely 
as the Sun is evident from passages in the Zend-avesta itself. 

Max Muller gives an extract from the 43rd chapter of 
the Yagna, and which instantly suggests the Hebrew Bard’s 
meditations on the same grand theme (see Psalms xix., 5, 6; 
and chap. civ. 19 ; see also Job xxvi. 7)—“Who has made 
“ a path for the Sun, and for the Stars ? Who makes the 
“ moon to increase and to decrease ? Who holds the earth 
“ and the clouds that they do not fall ?” 



Chapter VI. —Buddhism. 

Meantime, the corruptions of the Brahmanical system were 
yearly increasing. The arrogance of the priests was becoming 
excessive; and the natural consequence—a revolution in 
religious matters—took place. 

The story of Sakya-muni (or Gautama, or Siddhartha, as 
he was variously called), better known to us as Buddha, need 
not here be told. It is tolerably well known, and cannot but 
command our respectful attention. Convinced that men had 
not right views of things, and angered at the wickedness of 
the Brahmans, whose self-interest caused them to lay sucli 
heavy burdens upon the people, Sakyamuni resolved to leave 
his princely home, and to seek in retirement that truth 
which he felt must be his. This truth revealed itself to him 
as he was sitting under a tree, and from that time he called 
himself Buddha, the Enlightened. This was about 600 
years B.C. 

His system of religion gradually spread among the masses 
of India, until, in the middle of the third century before our 
era, it was the recognised religion of the Peninsula. About 
200 years B.C. Buddhism was taken into China, where his 
name was corrupted into Fo-to and Fo. At present about 
one in three of the entire population of the globe are 
Buddhists ! (34). 

(34) The Brahmanists number about one in seven; Mohammedans 
about one in six; Christians a little less than Buddhists; while 0’3 are 
Jews, the remainder 8’7 being what Berghaus calls “nondescript 
heathen.” 


D 



HINDU THOUGHT. 


SC* 

The Buddhistic Sacred Book is the Tripitaka; its moral 
code has been declared to be second to none save that of 
Jesus, and only second here more on account of its disbelief 
in immortality than in any shortcoming of its teachings. As 
in Christ there were neither Jews nor Greeks, bondmen nor 
free, so with Buddha distinctions of caste were unknown. 
All men were equal, and all were to participate in such sal¬ 
vation as his system oifered- None were to be lost, and, 
better still, the doctrine of transmigration—which was at this 
period regarded with terror (thanks to the priests !)—^was 
denied. Charity, kindness, and compassion to all—these 
were the cardinal virtues. 

Such doctrines could not but be acceptable to the priest- 
ridden community; and as the lower castes had nothing to 
lose, but everything to gain, by its abolition, caste was no 
longer maintained. Inter-marriages took place; pollution 
was not thought of; all were brothers. The effects of this 
temporary breaking up of caste is now seen in India; for 
Buddhism failing to retain its hold, Brahmanism once more 
became the ascendant, and with the resuscitation of caste 
came numberless sub-divisions according to the amount of 
departure which had been made during the inter-regnum. 
The Brahmans alone, who had everything to lose and nothing 
to gain, had stood aloof from the change they could neither 
avoid nor control, and had maintained their caste in its 
integrity. 

The religion of Buddha was extremely simple, in striking 
contrast to the traditions of the Brahmans, whose doc¬ 
trines, as well as self-assumptions, it emphatically opposed. 
Though Buddhism had an order of priests, or, more cor¬ 
rectly, monks (who, by the bye, were tonsured !), its ritual 
was plain, and dogmas were conspicuous by their absence. 
Its priests congregated in monasteries, but were at any time 
free to leave these and re-join the world, and marry. After 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


51 


the death of Buddha, magnificent temples were reared all 
over India, but in these, contrasting strongly with the 
Brahmanical sanctuaries, the only image was one of Buddha 
himself, and a shrine containing his relics. The sayings 
attributed to Buddha breathe a spirit of lofty morality, to 
which the nineteenth century would do well to give heed, 
and many of his aphorisms strengthen the supposition that 
the East in no slight degree leavened the more Western 
ethical philosophy. 

“ All that we are is the result of what we have thought. 

If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows 
‘‘ him as the wheel follows the foot of him who draws the 

cart.’» 

“ Let a man overcome evil with good.” 

The chief characteristic of Buddha’s teaching lay in his 
doctrine of Nirvana, His meditations had revealed to him 
the truth of four axioms which he expressed thus— 

The existence of Pain. 

The cause of Pain is Desire. 

Desire can only cease when Nirvana is attained. 

The way to Nirvana. 

To attain Nirvana men must practise the following virtues, 
or perfections : The giving of alms, morality, science, energy, 
patience, and charity. 

To understand Nirvana we must go back a little way and 
examine what had hitherto been taught respecting a future 
life. 

I have already remarked that Hindu philosophers had 
discovered a difference between spirit and matter. How this 
difference was noticed I can best explain by a reference to 
what Max Muller has said concerning the origin of Myth¬ 
ology. ^ 

The Greek word for breath was psuche— blowing. One 
peculiarity of a dead body was that it did not breathe; in 


52 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


fact, the ancients knew no more of a dead man than that he 
had ceased to breathe. The breath was the life, and it had 
left the body. But of ** breath” itself, tney knew nothing, 
save that it was the active principle, and if it was possible to 
have a body (a dead body) without tne breath, was it not 
also possible to have the breath without the body ? Hence 
arose the query, where did the breath” go when it left a 
man ? The Greeks said to Hades, the place of the invisible. 
As Max Muller says—that the breath had become invisible, 
had fled, was a simple matter of fact; that it had gone to 
Hades was mythology (35). 

Now the Hindus had the same problem before them. 

The departure of the breath, and at the same time its 
evident importance as the very life itself, doubtless sug¬ 
gested the first idea of immortality to man. The Old Testa¬ 
ment is noticeably free from allusions to an after life; and 
the statement that immortality was brought to light by 
Christ, is an additional proof that but slight faith was placed 
in the doctrine of immortality before his time. But during 
the ages prior to his advent the conception of an abode 
where disembodied spirits dwelt—a conception to which the 
current mythology only added strength—had been gradually 
assuming form. Jesus, gathering up the floating thoughts, 
and perceiving the folly of longer waiting for a temporal 
deliverance for his countrymen, gave to the world his notions 
of a future life—notions which blended the material with the 
spiritual. 

The vivid imagination, and deep poetical feeling which 
produced the Vedic hymns, still had a home in the Aryan 
heart, and calling speculation to their aid, produced the 
doctrine of Transmigration. In the Veda itself we And no 

(35) See the interesting argument by Mr. Miiller in the Contemporary 
Review for December, 1871; and of which the above is simply an eb^bora' 
tiou. 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


53 


mention ot metempsychosis ^ the gods were scarcely superior 
to men (36)—were not their own ancestors among them ?— 
and hence a kind of immortality was hoped for and, to some 
extent, taught. 

But in process of time the conceptions of the Deity grew 
in purity, and philosophy evolved the doctrine (natural to 
men who regarded the breath as the life, or the soul, and 
independent of the body) that the soul was opposed to body, 
and spirit to matter. These considerations, aided doubtless 
by the inability to explain the more than instinct of many 
animals on any other hypothesis, led to a belief that after 
death the soul went to heaven for a time, and then resumed 
earthly form again, either in some animal, or else in human 
shape (37). 

“The Kut’hUpanishad taught that “some who are ignorant 
“ of this doctrine (of the divine origin of the soul, by no 
“ means different from its source,) re-appear in the animal 
“ shape ; some assume the form of trees, according to their 
“ conduct and knowledge during their lives.” • 

The same authority has this—“ If man can acquire a 
“ knowledge of God in this world before the fall of his body 


( 36 ) There can be no doubt that the deeper philosophy goes, and the 
wider bounds science sets, the greater and more sublime will be the God 
conceived of. This is, perhaps, contrary to the common belief, that 
savages, from their ignorance, and because of the great preponderance of 
awe in their conceptions, invest their Deity with powers which we assign, 
in general speech, to nature; but I believe it to be a fact nevertheless. 

( 37 ) The Moonduk Upanishad of the Atharva Veda (the latest of all 

the Vedas) has this passage—“ Those wh» engage in various manners of 
“rites and sacrifices (only?) from their excessive desire of fruition (or 
“ rewards), remain destitute of knowledge of God^ and descend to this 
“ world again after the time of their celestial qualification is expired. 
“ These believe that the performance of rites and sacrifices prescribed 
“ by the Vedas are the more beneficial, and have no idea that the know- 
“ led«-e of, and faith in, one God are the only true sources of bliss.” Origen 
also held that “all spirits are purified from stain, and then reabsorbed 
“ into Deity, from which they emanated; afterwards they again leave 
“it . . and are condemned to re-enter bodies,” etc. Where did 

Origen get this idea from ? From India ? 


54 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


(that is, before he dies), he becomes happy for ever; other- 
wise, he assumes new forms in different mansions.” 

The majority of the people, ignorant of Sanskrit, and 
under the spiritual subjection of the Brahmans, had learnt to 
expect nothing for themselves but continual reappearance in 
various shapes, and this through never-ending cycles! 
Buddha came as a saviour to such, and sweeping away the 
whole Brahmanical system, proclaimed a final state of rest, 
or, as some think, of extinction. This condition into which 
the soul entered at death was called Nirvana. Its meaning 
can only be ascertained by carefully examining the teaching 
of Buddha. Buddha seems to have been of an extremely 
sensitive nature. He saw pain and misery around him, and 
felt his utter inability to alleviate it. That pain exists was 
evident to all, and the cause of it was, in his opinion, desire. 
Hence our affections must be destroyed, as without them 
we should not be tied to earth; without affections to guide 
(or rule ?) us, we should find no objects with which to sym¬ 
pathise, and neither pain nor misery would be noticed by 
us. Existence here was no blessing; was it not rather a 
curse under the present circumstances ? 

Buddha is said to have had no belief in the existence 
of a God, but because he hesitated to express a belief 
in one, we need not rush to such a conclusion. Many 
a philosopher in our own day has failed to see how a 
wise and merciful God, as the one Christendom adores 
is said to be, can allow wickedness to ride so rampant 
if He is indeed all-powerful. The origin of evil has ever 
taxed man’s powers to discover. Because a Hindu philo¬ 
sopher who, touched with the feeling of our infirmities, would 
not, by his own expressed words, lend his authority to the 
commonly received conceptions of the Supreme Being; and, 
on the other hand, failed to unravel satisfactorily to himself 
the problem of good and evil—leaving it an open question so 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


55 


far as his teaching, confined to morals, was concerned, 
whether there were a God or no—is no reason why we should 
say he did not believe in a Supreme Being. Buddha was 
the last man who would say, Let us eat and drink, for 
to-morrow we die f and can we doubt that he who taught 
such a high morality, believed in his inner soul in one Ab¬ 
solute Good ? 

The followers of Buddha, not possessed of his wisdom, 
proclaimed the doctrine of extinction; but history, if it 
teaches anything, teaches this, that the purest doctrines ever 
held by any reformer are certain to be corrupted before the 
next generation has passed away. In the doctrinal world, as 
in the physical world, evolution and development are always 
at work. Christianity itself is a notable example of this. 

For centuries the religion of Buddha reigned supreme in 
India, and had it not been for this after-development (the 
mind of man cannot rest satisfied with a negation of Deity) 
(38) it perhaps might still have been so. 

( 38 ) Nirvana now ia regarded as a Paradise, This is a still further 
development. 



Chapter VIL— Hindu Philosophy. 

The Brahmans were not idle meantime. Their occupa¬ 
tion to a large extent gone, they devoted their leisure to 
developing their systems of philosophy—of which they had 
six. These were affected of course by the prevalent form ot 
religion, and one system taught that the existence of a per¬ 
sonal God could not be proved. 

Strange to say, these various systems, entirely opposed to 
each other on vital points as they were, all based their rea¬ 
sonings on the Vedic literature. The Vedas could not be 
gainsayed. The only thing left was for each system to select 
those portions which seemed to favour its own particular 
theory, and then to assert that the Veda must have held that 
theory. 

The Philosophical Systems, therefore, had their respective 
followers, neither party of whom considered the other as 
heretics, for each quoted the Vedas, which in their turn were 
regarded by each as a Divine revelation—as Kanada (the 
Vais’ Eshika philosopher) says, “ The Veda is a revelation 
of him who is the Lord.” 

The mutual reverence for their Sacred Books prompted a 
spirit of charity towards those whose philosophical views 
differed from one’s own. A lesson here which we of Chris¬ 
tian Europe have not yet learnt ! 

In a translation of aphorisms from the Vais’ Eshika, pub, 
lished in 1851, we get the philosophy of Kanada. Kanada, 
who is called the great saint, says—The pre-eminent way 




HINDU THOUGHT. 


57 


to the attainment of the perception of the real nature of 
“ soul is the knowledge of truth (derived) from (the know- 
ledge of) the (mutual) agreements and disagreements of 
the six categories; and this (knowledge of the mutual 
‘‘ relations of the categories) may be completed by means of 
duty characterised by forbearance” (from works positively 
evil, &c.) 

Duty is described as that from which there results eman¬ 
cipation” through exaltation,” while exaltation is explained 
as the knowledge of reality, and emancipation as the ab¬ 
solutely final cessation of pain. 

Kanada’s six categories” were these—Substance, Quality, 
Action, Community, Distinction, and Correction (39). 

Substance comprised earth, water, light, soul, mind. 
Quality comprised colour, numbers, thoughts, pleasures, 
&c. Action comprised elevation, depression, contraction, 
dilatation, motion, &c.; and was besides the common cause 
of the last three categories. 

Another system of philosophy was the Sa’nkhya. It 
taught that prosperity was the fruit of former virtue, and 
adversity of former vice. 

The Nya’ya Philosophy offered a solution of the question. 
How man could attain his chief end ? “ The knowledge of 

“ truth, or what is what,” it said, assists us. This know- 
“ ledge alone, however, will not take us there, though it 
“ will help to remove all such misery as flows from false 
knowledge.” 

The philosophical treatise of Nya’ya commences with this 
curious passage—In order to produce good luck, we medi- 
“ tate on the beauty of the toe-nails of Bhavani, which 
“ (beauty) taking,an exquisite aspect as it was associated 

(39) A later writer, Annam Bhatta, says Kan^da’ssmn categories were 
Substance, Quality, Action, Genus, Difference, Cohesion, and Non¬ 
existence. 


58 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


with the ruddy lustre of newly applied lac-dye, seemed a 
sort of lovely ornament of Sira’s head, when his head was 
bowed down (at her feet) to deprecate her haughty dis- 
pleasure.” 

But the greatest Philosopher of all was Byas, who wrote 
the Vedanta, or summary of the Vedas, about 2000 years 
ago, or a hundred years B.C. I cannot do better than 
quote from it. 

It is absolutely necessary for mankind to acquire know 
ledge respecting the Supreme Being, who is the subject of 
discourse in all the Vedas.” 

“ Of Him the Vedas say. The Supreme Being is not 
comprehensible by vision, or by any other of the organs of 
‘‘ sense; nor can he be perceived by means of devotion, or 
virtuous practices.” 

^‘He sees everything, hears everything, though never 
directly heard of. He is neither short, nor is he long ; 
inaccessible to the reasoning faculty, not to be compassed 
by description; beyond the limits of the explanations of 
the Vedas, or of human conception.” 

Byas then goes on to show that we cannot definitely assert 
what or how God is ; we can only explain him by his works. 

He by whom the birth, existence, hnd annihilation of the 
“ world is regulated, is the Supreme Being.” 

Byas alludes to the high regard in which the Vedas are 
held, and says that though they are called eternal, yet “ all 
the texts and parts of the Vedas were created.” God is the 
cause of all the Vedas; nay more. He is the cause of all 
things ! The Void Space, the Air, Light, Nature, the Soul, 
are in the Vedas spoken of in high terms, it is true, but there 
are yet higher terms proclaiming the sovereignty of the 
Supreme Being, and that soul alone can enjoy happiness who 
is “joined” to Him. 

Byas takes up the theory broached by the Upanishads, 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


59 


namely, that the Vedas are simply allegorical when they refer 
divinity to those countless objects to whom they direct 
adoration. “ Fire is His head, the Sun and the Moon are 
His two eyes,” &c.; and as such—as parts of the Deity— 
are they deserving of honour. 

God was regarded as immanent in the universe. He was 
in everything, and everything was in Him—a doctrine which, 
though it meant nothing more than that God was the real 
source of existence, and that nothing was but by His will, 
was singularly open to misconstruction by those who had no 
v^ery exalted notion of the Deity. The doctrine indeed was 
carried to an extreme to which it is unsafe, save in philoso¬ 
phy^ to carry such doctrines, for all that exists was said 
to be God, and whatever we smell or taste is the Supreme 
Being.” 

That all this was but allegory is evident from the many 
fine passages in which the intense immateriality of God is 
insisted upon. He bears no figure nor form; His exist- 

ence had no cause. 

‘‘ In any place which renders the mind easy man should 
“ adore God.” 

That God is the soul of the Universe, is said by Ram 
Mohun Roy, to be the sum of the notion concerning Him 
in the Vedant. 



Chapter VIIL—Brahmanism—Suttee, and Infant 
Marriage. 

When Buddhism first commenced to lose its hold upon 
the people of India cannot now be ascertained. It is rather 
startling that for most of the facts concerning the history of 
India we are indebted, not to Indian historians (of whom 
there does not appear to have been one), but to Chinese 
travellers. We learn from them that towards the close of 
the fourth century after Christ Buddhism was rapidly losing 
gi-ound; indeed, many of its temples were even thus early 
in ruins. Its followers would appear to have been driven by 
degrees towards the north-west of the Peninsula, where the 
remains of cave temples give e\ddence of their having suf¬ 
fered persecution. 

Some of these ruins are very large, those for instance at 
Elephanta, about seven miles from Bombay. Before the 
twelfth century closed all traces of Buddhism, save the tem¬ 
ple ruins, had disappeared from India proper, finding homes 
more congenial to the north of the Himalayas, in Siberia, 
China, Japan, Ceylon, and some of the islands in the Indian 
Archipelago. Its adherents now number about 450 millions! 

After the retreat of its opponent, Brahmanisni urged its 
pretensions with itill greater force, and till a few years ago 
the whole of India was under the complete control of this 
priestly class. 

The doctrine of Nirvana, introduced by Buddha, greatly 
influenced the conception of the Future Life which the 





HINDU THOUGHT. 


6l 


Brahmans promulgated after their return to power. Trans¬ 
migration was still believed in, but it was by no means so 
prominent a feature as it had been. Absorption took its 
place. 

“ That person who understands and believes the Almighty 
Being will be absorbed in Him.” 

“ He who in life w^as devoted to the Supreme Being shall, 
“ after death, be absorbed in Him, and again be liable neither 
“ to birth nor death, reduction nor augmentation.” 

“ When a wise man perceives the resplendent God, the 

omnipresent cause, he becomes perfect, and obtains 
“ entire absorption.” When a man knows God “ the elfects 
“ of the good or evil actions, committed now or in preceding 
‘‘ shapes, are annihilated.” 

It is difficult to say precisely what ‘‘absorption” means. 
Some assert it is but another mode of ceasing to be; but it 
must be remembered that their philosophy taught there was 
but one spirit, and this was opposed to matter. The portion 
of the “ spirit” possessed by each individual at his death 
returned therefore to its primal source. As their writings 
say—“ As rivers flowing into the ocean lose their respective 
“ appellations and forms, so do those who are absorbed into 
“ the Supreme Immaterial and Omnipresent Existence.” 

The Vedas and the Laws of Manu were still held up for 
reverence, but being written in Sanskrit, and no translation 
being allowed, reference to these authorities could not be 
made by any save the few who, on account of their caste, 
were permitted to learn the sacred language. These ancient 
books w'ere thus to all intents and purposes ignored, and the 
modem writings of the Brahmans substituted as guides of 
conduct 

It is to these that the. idolatry of India, together with the 
absurd and cmel customs of widow-burning (Suttee) and 
infant-marriage, are to be attributed. It must be admitted 


62 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


that the numberless idols to be met with in almost every 
house are not regarded as representations of the Deity ; these 
are themselves the people’s gods, and to them on their own 
account is worship now paid. The Brahmans know full 
well this is contrary to the teaching of their Sacred Books, 
but like their contemporaries in Europe, they find it to their 
advantage to prevent all free enquiry, and to prescribe end¬ 
less rites and ceremonies and festivals for the propitiation of 
the millions of gods in which they have taught the Hindus 
to believe. 

Then as to Suttee, or the concremation of widows. There 
is no warrant whatever^ either in the Vedas or in Manu, for 
this horrible custom. In Manu, it is true, widows are for¬ 
bidden to marry again; but this is a very different thing 
from calling upon these poor creatures to ascend their hus¬ 
bands’ funeral pile! 

The Veda says~‘‘ While life may be preserved, it ought 
not to be destroyed,” and Manu invariably speaks of the 
Vedas as the highest authority. It is impossible to conceive 
that systems which inculcated such tenderness to dumb 
animals as the ancient Hindu religious systems did, should 
even for a moment entertain such a thought that widows 
must consider it a religious duty to sacrifice themselves in 
such a manner. 

While deprecating undue interference of the ruling power 
with the social and religious customs of the nation, I can¬ 
didly admit that the English Government was wise when it 
decided to put down this inhuman rite. But while saying 
this, I must protest against the Government doing things by 
halves. The concremation of widows, it must be remem¬ 
bered, was considered by Hindus as a religious duty, and it 
would have been not only wise, but kind, to have translated 
into the vernacular, and widely distributed, if not the whole 
of the ancient books, to which even the Brahmans own sub- 


HINDU THOUGHT. 63 

mission, at least those parts of them which teach the sacred¬ 
ness of life (40). 

The origin of this custom has not yet been discovered. 
Let us see if a study of some Hindu customs may help us. 
The marriage of his children is the chief object of a man’s 
life. Great ingenuity is exercised to marry daughters be¬ 
cause it entails expense on the parents; whereas a son always 
receives payment with his (I cannot say his “chosen”) 
bride. A poor man therefore regards a family of girls with 
dread, and many a poor little maid has been murdered in 
her infancy in order to avoid the expense of marrying her. 
(Among the Sudras the case is otherwise.) On the other 
hand, the Kulin Brahmans are a privileged class, and amongst 
their many “ perquisites” appears to be that of marrying as 
many girls as they choose. These “ wives” they leave in 
their respective homes, visiting them in turn. No payment 
is exacted by the girl’s parents. The fact of her being mar¬ 
ried, and to a Brahman, has relieved them from a dreaded 
burden ! Is it not probable that such a custom may have 
led to the other one—Suttee ? 

“ With the Hindus marriage is an entirely religious con- 
“ tract, and affects their welfare here and hereafter. There 
“ is no salvation for a man who has no children; for the 
“ offering of funeral cakes by his offsj^ring are the only 7 neans 
“ by which he can escape a hell called Put—a place for those 
“ who die childless, whatever their lives may have been. Thus 
“ procreation is made the primary object of marriage” (41). 

This extract from a paper on Hindu marriage, and 
written by a Hindu, presents a forcible example of the corrup- 

(40) It may be objected that this would be an interference, inasmuch 
as the Brahmans declare it wrong to translate the Sacred Books, or even 
to let anyone read them. But to this I answer that the Books themselves 
do not say so ! 

(41) See the article on Hindu Marriage in the Journal of the National 
Indian Association, 1871. (P. 149 ct, seq.) 



64 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


tions which crept into the national religion. I have already 
shown that the Upanishads, Manu, and the later systems 
of philosophy taught that salvation (with the Hindus, re-ab¬ 
sorption with the Deity) followed a knowledge of God; here, 
however, in modem Hinduism, a person who dies, childless, 
“ whatever his life may have been,” goes to Put! The re¬ 
sult is, that children, of both sexes, are married soon after 
they become seven years of age—sometimes even before; of 
course, as the Hindus themselves now see, the degeneracy 
of the nation is bound to follow such an abominable system. 
At such an age, the children are not expected to have any 
choice—their wives and husbands are chosen for them by 
their parents or guardians. When married, the girl is taken 
to her husbands’ home, (in India families live after the 
patriarchal mode) where her life is often passed in misery 
and servitude. 

Both Hindus and Mohammedans deny that the Zenana 
system and polygamy originated among themselves. As 
Zenana is a Persian word, and Harem (which means the 
same thing) is an Arabian word, it is probable that both are 
right. The seclusion of women was probably the result of 
polygamy, but when and where this first arose it is impossible 
to say. The way in which reference is made to women in 
the Sacred Books of the Hindus prove that they were in early 
times considered as the help-mate, if not the equal, of man. 
Mr. K. C. Sen says, “ we find in the code of Manu high 
ethical precepts enjoining the necessity of female education, 
and of respect for the fair sex.” 



Chapter IX. —^The Brahmo Somaj. 

Under these heavy burdens India was groaning, unrelieved 
by Mohammedan sway, when she first came into contact with 
Saxon civilization. Constant intercourse with the British 
could not but excite the stagnant thoughts of the more 
educated of the Hindus, and the leaven worked its way. 
Idolatry began to lose its hold, and the folly of praying to 
idols became apparent. Reformers rose up from among 
themselves, who hailed the British ascendancy as India’s 
salvation. Foremost among these was the Rajah Ram Mohun 
Roy, who devoted his time and energies and wealth to make 
the masses acquainted with the sacred writings from which 
the Brahmans professed to derive their authority; but which, 
on the contrary, were quite opposed to all their claims. 
The Rajah proved conclusively that neither Suttee nor 
Idolatry were parts of the ancient religion, but later corrup¬ 
tions introduced by an interested priesthood (42). 

Of late years a movement towards a pure worship and an 
eclectic religion has been steadily progressing. The Brahmo 
Somaj (or church of the True God) is indeed an emphatic 
protest against the idolatry and superstition which has for so 
long kept India enslaved. One of its members wrote not 
long ago—“ We try principally and first of all to influence* 
“ the religious consciousness, the very source of the emotions 
“ and will, and to lead every man to that natural course of 

(42) Ram Mohun Roy was born in 1774 (or 1780?), and died at Bristol 
in 1833, while on a visit to this country. 

F 






66 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


development which is peculiar ■ to his own case. The 
“ matter lies absolutely between him and his God. . . . 

‘‘ Our church has attempted to be faithful to Christendom, 
because to Christendom we think Theism owes much more 
than to any other truth ” (43). 

(43) See the Inquirer for August 3rd, 1872. 

May this movement spread in India ! It is not by assert¬ 
ing the worthlessness of their own religious books—books as 
sacred to them as the Bible is to Christians—that the inha¬ 
bitants of Hindustan are to be brought to the knowledge of 
God. Pauls spirit and very words must be imitated : “ Him 
whom ye ignorantly worship declare we unto you,” is all 
we must even dare to say. The Supreme Being is but One, 
and whether we call Him Jehovah, God, Brahma, or Vishnu, 
matters not. These are but the designations by which He is 
called : He can be known in the heart alone. 

Augustine wrote : ‘‘ What is now called the Christian 
“ religion has existed among the ancients, and was not 
absent from the beginning of the human race until Christ 
“ came in the flesh; from which time the true religion, 
“ which existed already, began to be called Christian.” 

Let me conclude with a sentence from Don Emilio Cas- 
telar’s Old Rome and New Italy: —“ Those who look upon 
“ life from one side, upon time from one age, . . the 

doctrines of one religion only, humanity from one people, 
will never understand the human mind.” 



APPENDIX. 

As little is known of the literature of the East, whose dense 
population is too often carelessly described as heathen, I 
annex a few quotations from various writers. I am indebted 
for them to the works of the Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, Mr. 
Thomas Roebuck, Sir William Jones, and Pfofessor Max 
Muller. 

Erom the Vedas. 

“ All descriptions employed to describe the Supreme 
Being are incorrect.” (God cannot be described.) 

“ He who worships any God but the Supreme Being, and 
thinks that He is distinct and inferior to such god, knows 
nothing.” 

None but the Supreme Being is to be worshipped. A 
wise man should adore nought except Him.” 

“ He who has true faith in the Omnipresent Supreme 
Being may eat all that exists.” (Compare i Cor. viii.) 

From the Writings of Abulfazl (Minister of Akbar.) 

“ The fire of the Sun is the tooth of God’s sovereignty. 
If there were no light nor fire, there would be neither food 
nor medicines. It is the source of man’s existence, and of 
the duration of life; therefore there can be nothing improper 
in its veneration. Akbar felt convinced there were sensible 
men in all religions, and abstemious thinkers and men endowed 
with miraculous powers among all nations.” 

From the Writings of Faizi, Brother to Abulfazl. 

“ O Thou who existest from eternity, and abidest for ever, 
sight cannot bear thy light, praise cannot express thy per¬ 
fection. ... To think of Thee destroys reason. Thy 
essence confounds thought. . . . Human knowledge 

and thought combined can only spell the first letter of the 
alphabet of Thy love.” 



68 


HINDU THOUGHT. 


From Confucius. 

“ What you do not like done to yourself, do not do that 
to others.” 

From Lao-tse. 

“ There is an Infinite Being who existed before heaven 
and earth.” 


Hindustani Proverbs. 

“ God only knows the things that pertain to God.” 

“ God is monarch of the heart.” 

“ The name of God will endure.” 

Persian Proverbs. 

“ The water of life is in darkness.” (Nothing excellent is 
obtainable without labour.) 

“ That becomes easy which you have firmly resolved upon.” 

“No one hath seen God; we know his existence by 
reason.” 

“ We are God’s creatures, and the world belongs to God 
alone.” 

“ Confer benefits on him who has injured thee.” 

The Sama Veda. 

The Sdma Veda is always sung. Those who have heard 
Hindus sing will doubtless wonder at this statement; for to 
European ears the Indian song seems to have no melody, 
while it is quite devoid of harmony. Yet, strange to say, the 
Hindus complain of the monotony of European music ! The 
reason is this : the Hindu employs forty-two modes in which 
to write his music; we use but two—the major and minor. 
Further, the Hindu never modulates, and but seldom closes 
on the tonic chord. To our ears the singing of the Sima 
Veda seems more like a low, almost monotonous chanting. 
(See Report of Mr. C. B. Clarke, Inspector of Schools in 
East Bengal.) ^ 



MANU. 

If then we look at the ancient literature of India, even dur¬ 
ing its best period, we shall find the most remarkable evb 
dence of the uncontrolled ascendancy of the imagination. 
In the first place we have the striking fact that scarcely any 
attention has been paid to prose composition; all the best 
writers having devoted themselves to poetry as being most 
congenial to the national habits of thought. Their works on 
grammar, on law, on history, on medicine, on mathematics, 
on geography, and on metaphysics, are nearly all poems, and 
are put together according to a regular system of versification. 
The consequence is that, while prose writing is utterly 
despised, the art of poetry has been cultivated so assiduously 
that the Sanskrit can boast of metres more numerous and 
more complicated than have ever been possessed by any of 
the European languages. The peculiarity in the form of 
Indian literature is accompanied by a corresponding peculiarity 
in its spirit. For it is no exaggeration to say that in that 
literature everything is calculated to set the reason of niaji at 
defiance. An imagination, luxuriant even to disease, runs 
riot on every occasion. This is particularly seen in those 
productions which are most eminently national, such as the 
Ramayana, the Mahabharat, and the Turanas in general. But 
we also find it in their geographical and chronological systems, 
which of all others might be supposed least liable to imagi¬ 
native flights.” 

I have quoted this at length from “ Buckle’s History of 





70 


MANa 


Civilization,^ because such remarks from such an authority 
carry weight, and they are calculated to discourage a study of 
Hindu literature. But, as I have shown in the former paper 
on “ Hindu Thought,” this literature is exceedingly extensive 
and beautiful. Besides the intrinsic value of a literature 
bearing traces of the early workings of the human mind, 
there are in the sacred books of India wonderful veins of 
eternal truth which cannot fail to find responsive sympathies 
in all hearts. 

So far from Indian literature being peculiar on account of 
the poetical form it took, we have seen that it could not well 
have done otherwise. The early days of a race must be 
poetical, and it is then that a language lends itself most easily 
to the poet. Experience, and with experience a commonplace 
contentment, has not been purchased ; surprise at the daily 
rising of the sun, awe at the phenomena of nature, astonish¬ 
ment at their own varied powers, have not yet given way in 
men to a settled belief that all things would thus continue. 
Their very sentiments being poetical, their speech and 
literature could not fail to be so likewise. The Rig Veda 
hymns existed as hereditary tradition long before they took 
their present written form, and it was fortunate that poetry 
and not prose was the instinctive medium by which eur ances¬ 
tors expressed their thoughts, because, it is almost needless to 
say, a poem was far more likely to be remembered than any 
prose composition. If poetry was ms(,re congenial to the 
national habits of (Indian) thought, it was so not because the 
thought was Indian, but because it was earhy human thought! 
Look where we will, we shall find the oldest literature of 
every ancient people to be in poetry and not in prose. 

Nor can I endorse Mr. Buckle’s opinion that in Hindu 
literature “ everything is calculated to set the reason of man 
at defiance.” The amount of ancient Hindu literature which 
was available for Mr. Buckle’s researches must have been 


MANU. 


71 


very small, and I am inclined to think that the little he did 
know of it was obtained from foreign translations of (as 
compared to the whole) minute fragments. It is only of 
very late years that the Sanskrit language has been mastered, 
and even now it is by no means unusual for two scholars to 
give slightly varying translations of the same passage. But 
without being hypercritical, would it be very extraordinary to 
find a great deal in the early literature of a race somewhat 
opposed to the reason of man? The error lies in contrasting 
with what is truth now (the present reason of man), that 
which appeared to be truth at the time such literature 
flourished. 

For instance, no one would think of asserting that ancient 
books, which described the earth as a flat plain and the sun 
as revolving round it, set defiance to the reason of man. If, 
however, the scientific discoveries of late centuries be ignored, 
and such doctrines concerning the earth and the sun were 
now attempted to be promulgated, the holder of such doctrines 
might with consistency be said to set man’s reason at defiance. 
Even comparing sacred writings with sacred writings we must 
still defend the Hindu national literature from the charge of 
being exceptionally sensational. What more startling and 
romantic a tale, for instance, could be devised than that of 
the infant Moses, born of a despised race, saved from a violent 
death, exposed to the mercy of the elements, fostered by a 
king’s daughter, and finally destined to be the deliverer of his 
people ? Yet a similar lot, told in remarkably similar lan¬ 
guage, is related in the Mahabharat of Kirshna, and such 
instances might be increased a hundredrold. The story of 
Sakya-Muni, or Buddha, is not less wonderful than the stories 
told of many an old Jewish prophet. No; Mr. Buckle seems 
to have met with portions of the Vedic hymns which ascribe 
divinity to natural phenomena, and, momentarily forgetful of 
the Iliad and of the Odyssey, of the ^Eneid and the 


72 


MANU. 


Scandinavian sagas, immediately to have concluded that the 
Indian “ imagination, luxuriant even to disease, run riot on 
every occasion, and more particularly in those productions 
which are most eminently national.” 

One of the “ most eminent national productions ” is the 
book of the Institutes or the Laws of Manu. I will give a 
few extracts from this celebrated work, not only to show how 
very erroneous an impression is conveyed by Mr. Buckle, 
but also to incite a more careful study of Hindu literature— 
a study that will more than repay the closest application. I 
follow Mr. Haughton’s edition of Sir William Jones’ transla 
tion (London, 1825). 

The subjects of which Manu treats are twelve, namely, the 
Creation; Education; Marriage; Economics and Private 
Morals ; Diet, Purification and Women; Devotion ; Govern¬ 
ment; Judicature; the Commercial and Servile Classes ; the 
Mixed Classes and Times of Distress ; Penance and Expia¬ 
tion ; Transmigration and Final Beatitude. The chapter on 
the Creation is doubtless fanciful, but what can else be ex¬ 
pected of a discourse concerning the creative agency and 
creative acts of which it was quite impossible for the writer 
to know anything. As a speculation concerning the origin 
of all things the opening chapter of Manu will nevertheless 
be read with intense interest. Text 96 of this chapter says,— 

“ Of created things, the more excellent are those which are 
animated; of the animated, those which subsist by intelli¬ 
gence ; of the intelligent, mankind; and of man, the sacer¬ 
dotal class.” 

Text 97. “Of priests, those eminent in learning; of the 
learned, those who know their duty; of those who know it, 
such as perform it virtuously; and of the virtuous those who 
seek beatitude from a perfect acquaintance with scriptural 
doctrine.” 


MANU. 


73 


From the chapter on Education I select text 13 :— 

“ A knowledge of right is a sufficient incentive for men un¬ 
attached to wealth or to sensuality; and to those who seek 
a knowledge of right, the supreme authority is divine 
revelation.” 

Text 57. ‘‘Excessive eating is prejudicial to health, to 
fame, and to future bliss in heaven; it is injurious to virtue, 
and odious among men.” 

Text 85. “ The act of repeating his (God’s) Holy Name is 
ten times better than the appointed sacrifice; a hundred 
times better when it is heard by no man ; and a thousand 
times better when it is purely mental.” 

Text 94. “ Desire is never satisfied with the enjoyment of 
desired objects.” 

Text 114. “Sacred Learning, having approached a 
Brahman, said to him, ‘ I am thy precious gem; preserve me 
with care, deliver me not to a scorner.’” 

Text 228. “Let every man constantly do what may please 
his parents.” 

In the chapter of Economics at text 175 we read,— 

“ Let a man continually take pleasure in truth, in justice, 
in laudable practices, and in purity.” 

From the chapter on Judicature I select the following:— 

Text 15. “Justice being destroyed, will destroy; being 
preserved, will preserve: it must never, therefore, be violated.” 

Text 85. “ The sinful have said in their hearts, ‘ None see 
us ;’ yes, the gods distinctly see them, and so does the spirit 
within their breasts.” 

Text 203. “ One commodity, mixed with another, shall 
never be sold as unmixed; nor a bad commodity as good.” 

The final chapter on Transmigration and Final Beatitude 
furnishes us with these :— 

Text 3. “ Action, either mental, verbal, or corporeal, bears 
good or evil fruit as itself is good or evil.” 


74 


MANtT. 


Text 84. “ Among all those good acts performed in this 
world, said the sages, is no single act held more powerful than 
the rest in leading them to beatitude ? ” 

Text 85. “Of all those duties, answered JBhrtgu, the 
principal is to acquire from the Upanishads a true knowledge 
of one supreme God ; that is the most exalted of all sciences 
because it ensures immortality.” 

Text 118. * * “For, when he (a Brahman) con¬ 

templates the boundless universe existing in the divine spirit, 
he cannot give his heart to iniquity.” 

I do not wish to be understood that the whole of the 
Institutes is in the same style; there are numberless instruc¬ 
tions and regulations which to us seem absurd. But it must 
be remembered that the Laws of Manu were written many 
hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago when the constitu¬ 
tion of society was very different from what it now is. It 
must also be borne in mind that Hindus versed in their 
country’s literature are of opinion that many of the Laws of 
Manu were intended for the first three ages of the world (the 
Hindu chronology is very puzzling), and are by no means 
intended for the present age. Another fact worth remember¬ 
ing is this, that if sciences are best understood when studied 
comparatively, so will the real beauty and force of civiliza¬ 
tions and their literatures be discovered when a comparison 
is made between them. If Manu’s Institutes contain much 
that is strange and “ reason-defying,” the same must be said 
of codes belonging to later ages, not even ejccepting the 
present ! 


THE PASSION-PLAY AT OBER-AMMERGAU. 


It was in August, 1871, that, accompanied by a friend, I 
visited the lovely village of Ober-Ammergau for the purpose 
of seeing the Passion-Play. The journey was a tedious one 
to us, for time was short; leaving London on Wednes¬ 
day morning we had to reach Munich by Friday. By dint 
of travelling express, and allowing ourselves but little rest, 
we succeeded in doing this, getting into Munich in time for 
breakfast on the Friday. We found the city full of visitors, 
for it is the last stage before starting for Ammergau. Spend¬ 
ing a few hours in visiting the Palace Gardens, the churches, 
and other objects of interest, we retired to rest early, for we 
were tired, and our train left at seven o’clock the next 
morning. 

At that hour, therefore, we were at the station, on Satur¬ 
day, August 23rd, and after a little pushing, and being much 
pushed about, were enabled to secure tickets for Weilheim, 
and seats in the carriage. The distance from Munich to 
Weilheim cannot be very great, yet it was ten o’clock ere we 
reached the latter place. We found numberless vehicles of 
all descriptions awaiting the arrival of the train, and being 
anxious not to be left behind, we jumped into the one which 
happened to be nearest us. But horror of horrors ! No 
sooner did the vehicle” move than we discovered to our 
cost we had selected a hay-waggon innocent of springs ! 
The situation was so novel, however, the surrounding 
country was so exquisitely beautiful, and our fellow-travellers 
were so pleasant, that the jolting, by affording continual 





76 THE PASSION-PLAY AT OBER-AMMERGAU. 

matter for merriment, was at last felt to be indispensable to 
the day’s enjoyment! 

The valley of Ober-Ammergau Is about 6000 feet above 
the sea. It is a most charming spot; and whether we 
remember the route from Weilheim or the valley of Ammer 
itself, we feel constrained to say that we have seen no lovelier. 

The road winds through a well-cultivated land, interspersed 
here and there by pine woods. A few hours after leaving 
Weilheim, the Bavarian Alps, in which the village of Ammer- 
gau nestles, are seen in the distance. As the mountains are 
approached the loveliness of the scene impresses one most 
strongly, and when the last wayside halting-place is reached, 
and the ascent commences, the beauty of the Bavarian 
Tyrol is understood. The road now winds itself along the 
face of a pine-clad cliff; on the right this towers high over¬ 
head, with here and there a water-course cut in its face, 
down which in the wet season the water dashes triumphantly. 
On the left the road overhangs a precipice, and we look 
through and over the tops of the trees to the other side of 
the narrow pass. As we approach the top the space between 
the hills gradually widens, and after passing an ancient 
monastery, we arrive at our destination. The repose which 
everything here seems to enjoy, and the feeling of which 
insensibly steals over the traveller, is a fit introduction to the 
Play which has made the village famous. But high as the 
hamlet lies, the mountains which surround it on every side, 
and which are mostly covered with forests, are still higher. 
In a few places, far up in craggy summits, in crevices pro¬ 
tected alike from sun and wind, thin streaks of snow are still 
to be seen; while opposite’the church and overhanging the 
village is a magnificent pine-clad rock at least one thousand 
feet high, rising abruptly from the plain. On its summit is a 
gigantic cross. The whole scene—^village, mountains, and 
streams—formed a picture we shall never forget. 


THE PASSION-PLAY AT OBER-AMMERGAU. 


77 


I must not omit to mention that about eight miles from 
Ammergau—soon after we had halted for the last time—the 
conveyance broke down ! A few of our companions found 
seats in other vehicles, but for most of us (we were sixteen 
in all) nothing remained but to walk. This I by no means 
objected to, so we set out at a brisk pace, as we had been 
unable to secure lodgings beforehand, and we knew there 
would be a scramble for beds that night. It was seven in 
the evening before we reached the village, and after some 
little difficulty were fortunate enough to get a room, and also 
tickets for the Play. We soon learned that the Prince and 
Princess of Wales with a numerous suite were in the village 
on a similar errand as ourselves, and this doubtless was one 
cause of the extraordinary number of visitors. 

Performed originally in obedience to a vow the villagers 
made, that if relieved from a terrible plague which at one 
time threatened to annihilate the whole population, they 
would occasionally represent among themselves the Passion 
of the Lord, whose mercy and forbearance they sought, 
the “ Play” has lost none of its first simplicity. Practice 
and love of the work have rendered the performance perfect, 
and yet there is no mistaking the fact that the performers 
are simple country people. Herein doubtless lies the reason! 
Yet how, with their many other duties, they have been 
enabled so faithfully and artistically, and at the same time so 
naturally, to represent the latter scenes of that life so familiar 
to all readers of the Bible, must be a source of wonder to 
many. 

The Play commenced at eight o’clock on Sunday morn¬ 
ing ; but previous to this, even so early as five o’clock, there 
was mass in the church. We attended the service an hour 
later, and found the church crammed in every part. After¬ 
wards we strolled through the village, buying a few mementoes 
of our visit, such as photographs of the chief actors in the 


78 


THE PASSION-PLAY AT OBER-AMMERGAU. 


Play, wood carvings, &c., and then made our way to the 
theatre—a large, substantially-built, though evidently tempo¬ 
rary wooden structure. 

The crowd was large, but good-tempered. Access to the 
first and second seats was only obtained by steps outside the 
building, as the seats sloped upwards and backwards from 
the stage. The seats at the back, which were the best, and 
the only ones under shelter, being ten or twelve feet from 
the ground. 

The stage proper—that is, the part hidden by the drop— 
was of good size, permitting a large number of actors to be 
within it; while on each side of it, and open to the air, are 
what are supposed to be two streets of Jerusalem. The 
arrangements are exceedingly complete, no expense being 
spared to make the whole play a decided success. 

The first scene is Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on a colt, 
the foal of an ass.” Other scenes represent him driving the 
money-changers and sellers of doves from the Temple (a few 
live pigeons being let loose); his visit to the house at 
Bethany; the last supper; the agony in the garden; his 
appearance before Pilate and Caiaphas; the crucifixion, 
resurrection, and ascension. Interspersed with these are 
about twenty tableaux vivants: the expulsion from Paradise ; 
the murder of Abel; the trial of Abraham’s faith; the fall of 
manna in the wilderness; the spies bearing the grapes; 
Jonah being cast out of the fish’s mouth; and many others. 
In some of these scenes there must have been two hundred 
actors, little children being among them. 

To illustrate the tableaux vivants, and also to explain the 
New Testament narrative as acted out, the services of a 
chorus, numbering nineteen voices, were called in. These 
singers ranged themselves in a semicircle in front of the 
stage, under the direction of a choir-master, who took the 
most of the recitative himself; a solo would sometimes be 


THE PASSION-PLAY AT OBER-AMMERGAU. 


79 


sung by one, now by another, and then all would unite in a 
chorus. When the curtain was drawn up for the sake of 
exposing a tableau, the singers would fall back on either 
side, but when the acting proper was taking place they retired 
altogether. 

There is no need here to criticise the performance. It 
has already been done in the public journals. Suffice it to 
say the acting was as near perfect as it well could be. The 
life of Christ is dear to us, partly on account of its thorough 
simplicity and naturalness. The son of a village carpenter, 
but feeling himself called to a greater work, Jesus Christ 
went about doing good, choosing his companions from 
fishermen and tax-collectors, mingling freely with Scribes 
and Publicans. 

To delineate, in ;propria persona, such a character, no 
stage education is needed. The homely, simple life of a 
Bavarian Tyrolese, stimulated by a warm gratitude for mer¬ 
cies vouchsafed, and by an intense love of the work, has 
developed in these hardy mountaineers a complete aptitude 
for sustaining the characters so familiar to us. The costumes 
were most appropriate, and those of the chorus were gor¬ 
geous. The stage manager told us they were quite new. 

As the performance is not intended as a money-making 
affair, the profits being devoted to the poor, there is no 
j necessity for being niggardly in the arrangements, and the 
1 visitor consequently sees a play not only unequalled for its 
i conveniences, but itself got up in a style far superior to any 
j the play-going public are accustomed to. 

For my own part, the circumstances attending the per- 
I formance of the Ober-Ammergau Passion Play seem to 
Ij preclude all art-criticism. While offering to the directors 
(the cu 7 'e of the village superintends it all) my hearty con- 
l| gratulations on their success in presenting on a public stage 
the later scenes of a life so dear to Christendom, without 




8o 


THE PASSION-PLAY AT OBER-AMMERGAU. 


committing a single error in good taste, I nevertheless feel 
my commendation to be out of place; that the play is simply 
a religious act, to which, by courtesy only, the public are 
admitted. 

How long the simplicity which now constitutes its charm 
will be retained I cannot tell. There are some who augur 
ill from the great influx of visitors, saying it cannot but turn 
the heads of such simple country folks; that town manners, 
with which they must, in course of time, become acquainted, 
must have a deteriorating effect, &c. On the other hand, 
we must remember that the Play takes place but once in a 
decade (the war interrupted its performance in 1870), so that 
with the exception of the marvellous beauty of this part of 
the Tyrol, there will be no special attraction for some years, 
and the country people will thus have time to settle down 
once more into quiet life; and the peaceful solitude of this 
Alpine valley will no doubt re-assume its soothing and 
quieting influences upon the performers of the Passion Play 
of 1871. 

The Passion of Christ is represented in all its fearful 
details. The crown of thorns is put upon his head, and as 
if to intensify the horror, is handled by a gloved soldier, and 
pressed down with cross sticks ! He is stripped, and 
scourged, and taken to execution; on the road Simon is met 
with, and is made to bear the cross. 

At his crucifixion his executioners divide his raiment 
^arnong them ; he is offered a sponge dipped in vinegar; he 
imparts hope to the penitent thief; and after having given 
up the ghost, is about to have his legs broken by the soldiers, 
who have just done that office to the two malefactors. The 
Maria here interposes, and the soldier instead thrusts a 
spear into his side; from the wound there gushes out 
blood, causing a thrill of horror to pass through the vast 
assembly. 


the passion-play at OBER-AMMERGAU. 81 

The descent from the cross is next accomplished, followed 
by the burial, resurrection, and ascension. 

It was a faithful representation of the last scenes in 
Christ s life, illustrated by tableaux vivants taken from Old 
Testament and Apocryphal history. 

I draw no moral from the Play. I went to see a play, or 
rather an act of devotion on the part of these Bavarian 
peasants, and should as soon think of examining critically 
every detail in connection with it, as to write a homily on 
the lessons to be drawn from it. 

The Play has various effects on different minds. An 
orthodox minister of my acquaintance told me he sat it out, 
though several things seemed to him too horrible—almost 
blasphemous—to contemplate. For myself, I could not but 
wonder how men could put themselves so completely into 
the position of the Roman soldiers who scoffed at Christ in 
the J udgment Hall, and who afterwards crucified and pierced 
him. Even regarding Christ as merely a good man, we 
should of course condemn such conduct on the part of those 
who after all had no fault to find with him. But the actors 
regarded Christ as God; hence it showed the more real art 
in overcoming prejudices, and in so completely identifying 
one’s self with such inhuman barbarians as those who repre¬ 
sented Christ’s persecutors did in this case. 

It is easy to sit at home and write against such an exhibi¬ 
tion; but few who have seen it, and who allow for the 
attending circumstances, would altogether condemn it. To 
me it was intensely interesting, and the memory of my visit 
to the Ober-Ammergau Passion Play of 1871 will be ever 
fresh and pleasant. 




E 



THE ESTHETICS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

It is scarcely legitimate to make even a guess as to the 
nature of the first act, or acts, of worship men offered to the 
gods, so entirely absent is any evidence concerning either 
that act, or acts, or the primal dawning upon man’s intelli¬ 
gence of a possibility that beings superior to himself might 
exist beyond his ken. But whatever may have been the 
nature of that worship, it is certain that the weirdness” of 
such a possibility must have imparted to it a degree of awe 
to which, in other moments, men would be utter strangers. 
But this possibility of the existence of God suggested itself 
to man in the childhood of the race; and the earliest records 
we have, the Vedic hymns, reveal man as regarding these 
gods of the sky, and of the earth, and of other natural phe¬ 
nomena, with a child-like trust as much as with awe. It 
w^ould seem as though by nature man felt there were other 
Beings than himself, and that these Beings could not but be 
friendly to him. 

In course of time, as mythology crystallized, and the 
order of priests found how advantageous it was for them¬ 
selves to keep men in darkness respecting spiritual matters, 
systems of Religion (or Theologies) were formed, which are 
best described by the name of Fetishisms. As science—or 
the classification of natural phenomena, with its accompany¬ 
ing deductions—caused, by its progress and insistance, the 
various systems to modify their conceptions, this element 
of awe, though losing none of its real force, nevertheless lost 



THE ESTHETICS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 


83 


its blindness; and men are at length candidly admitting that 
while the great cause of things is completely beyond their 
grasp, yet the awe which mingles with, and tempers, their 
devotion, is an intelligible and reasonable factor among the 
many others which prompt such acts. 

We may further conclude that this feeling of awe, which 
affected men when they endeavoured to realize more vividly' 
the relations subsisting between themselves and the unseen, 
must have prompted them to enter upon their public devo¬ 
tions with an earnestness no ordinary occupation could either 
demand or expect. A care and thoughtfulness would inevita¬ 
bly colour those performances by which the favour of the 
gods was sought, or by which their anger was hoped to be 
appeased. 

We may be sure, and all tradition favours the supposition, 
that what was offered to the gods was sacred) actions, and 
even words (as the name of Jehovah among the Israelites) 
were set apart specially for their use; and it is, I think, safe 
to affirm that all the fine arts were originally dedicated to the 
service and honour of the deities. So much indeed was this 
the case, that each art had its own deity, who was at the 
same time said to be its founder. There can be no doubt 
that architecture, painting, and music found their first home 
in the religious sentiments of man, and in the public worship 
of the early nations their first and natural outcome. The 
three, indeed, were at first united, and have only in com¬ 
paratively recent times taken separate paths—so recent that 
it is by no means difficult to trace the various streams back 
to the broad river where they so long flowed undivided, and 
scarcely distinguishable from each other. The fine arts 
have not yet deserted their native soil—a soil in which they 
grow best, and in which, from its very nature, they ever will 
grow best. 

But the general spiritualising of man’s conceptions of the 


S4 


THE ESTHETICS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 


Infinite has naturally led him to ignore the idea once so 
current, that the Almighty is pleased with such offerings, and 
that without them no favours should be asked, and certainly 
none expected. If bulls and goats were fit offerings to an 
angry God, let them be the first-born and without blemish; 
but when, later in the world’s history, the near presence of 
God in the soul was the great aspiration of true hearts, die 
indispensable condition was that the desire be pure, and the 
spirit void of pride. Nevertheless, as no ancient custom can 
be easily broken through, the externals of religion” still 
occupy a prominent place in the economy of public worship, 
though doubts frequently present themselves as to the validity 
of this position. 

Pure religion—that is, love to God and love to man, Luke 
X. 27 and 28—is quite distinct from outward observance and 
ceremonial rites. These are but the esthetics of religion 
when this takes the form of public worship. 

It has been said that the cathedral arch naturally sprang 
up and enclosed the place of prayer; that men accustomed 
at first to meet in the open air when a large assembly was 
required, erected, so soon as their knowledge of architecture 
permitted them, a large covered building for the place of 
public worship; that of necessity such a building towered im¬ 
posingly above the ordinary habitations of men, while no 
doubt its object ensured as much perfection as possible in the 
structure and style. This, however, I imagine would apply 
only to Gothic nations, for it cannot be disputed that among 
the early Pagan nations the gorgeous temples erected to 
their gods were in reality so many offerings to their titular 
deities ; the Pantheon was supposed to be propitiated by the 
honours thus paid to it. 

Among Christian nations, however, the case was different; 
converted from a belief in the gods many and lords many of 
surrounding Paganism, they were taught that God was not 


THE ESTHETICS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 85 

to be worshipped by men’s hands, and hence we find among 
the early Christian circles no tendency to express, either in 
stones, colours, or sounds, those convictions of eternal 
realities which we are compelled to think they possessed in 
a very marked degree. The religious orders, to whom the 
evangelisation of the world was committed, were in these 
early days, strict adherents to their founders’ rules ; denying 
all wealth themselves, and believing that religion consisted 
not in vain show and empty words, but rather in pure lives 
and in simple trust in God,—they were content with their 
own poverty and a simple place for public worship. With 
them, in their pristine days, devotion was everything, and the 
external surroundings but an accident. 

Such a state of things could not last long; when circum¬ 
stances required a large building in which to meet, it was 
natural for a noble building to arise, and the Gothic style, 
with its lofty arch pointing upwards to the skies, its massive 
style, and many opportunities for graceful ornament, could 
not fail to impress the builders with an awe which we, with 
our tutored minds, can only partially comprehend,—if indeed 
it did not also re-act upon their original intention, compelling 
them to see not only a favourable opportunity, but an im¬ 
perious call of duty, to erect a temple worthy of the service 
therein intended to be rendered the Most High. 

By slow degrees the relation between service and temple 
was reversed, and it was inevitable, the more authoritative 
the religion became, that it should be so. At a time when 
each man’s hand was against his neighbour, but little chance 
existed of the flower of holiness and purity coming to perfec¬ 
tion, and as men must trust in something, they were partly 
led, and partly driven (by their own fears) to trust in the ex¬ 
ternals of religion; the way to atone for a deed of wrong was 
to erect or endow a church. Such sentiments had of course 
their due effect upon the service, which becajpe more and 


86 


the esthetics of public worship. 


more linked to the building, while a factitious sacredness was 
imparted to both. 

This mis-placed reverence attained its highest in the 
Middle Ages, and as now there is in one section of the 
English Church a desire to return once more to medieval 
customs, it cannot be amiss to examine its pretensions. 

The religious orders rapidly departed from their simple 
rule of faith and charity. Each in its turn became intoxi¬ 
cated with new-found power, and each in its turn declined, 
but not before first having done its share in materialising 
religion, and imparting a mysticism to the services of the 
sanctuary which finally resulted in a divorce of all that was 
spiritual and heartfelt. A “ wholesome superstition ” being 
thus generated among the laity, and the influence upon them 
of an elaborate ritual being noticed, the aesthetics of religion 
were soon employed as powerful engines to attract and retain 
the adhesion of the multitude. 

To what an extent the thraldom of the Saxon race might 
not have reached had it not been for the Puritan stand three 
hundred years ago, it is not easy to say; but that to this 
reaction we owe what spiritual freedom we now possess, is 
unquestionable. 

By maintaining this, I do not of course intend to ignore 
the faults of the other extreme into which this party ran, but 
it must be admitted that without such an extreme it is 
doubtful whether the mean would ever have been attained. 

England at this time presents an interesting study from 
this point of view; from the Friend, who has scarcely a 
single formality (save that one of so regularly assembling 
together), to the Roman Catholic, with his almanac scarcely 
free from a saint’s day, how many gradations there are in the 
matter of sesthetico-religious tendency ! 

The Free Churches of to-day are the descendants of the 
old Presbyterians, and the exceeding plainness of the build- 


THE ^ESTHETICS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 


S7 


ings inherited by them, and the not less simple order of 
service, are silent witnesses to the fact that our religious ances¬ 
tors relegated to a very minor position those externals of 
which other denominations think so highly. Of late years, 
however, a change has been creeping over the aspect of 
affairs, and places of worship are becoming more ornate and 
the services more elaborate. 

That a church should be a well-built edifice no one will 
deny. David’s lament that he was living in a house of cedar 
while the ark of God was still sheltering on a threshing 
floor, might well be ours, did we lodge sumptuously all the 
week, and on returning Sabbaths assemble in a wretched, 
cheerless room. Our love for anything may be measured 
by the amount of thought and care we bestow upon it. 
Yet there is a limit, or rather a “ fitness,” towards which our 
idea of church architecture should ever tend. No glaring 
colours should offend the eye; no grotesque ornament offend 
the taste; no incongruous associations should have the 
slightest chance of suggesting themselves; while on the other 
hand no unnecessary poverty in the details must be allowed 
to give rise to vain regrets. Everything should be in perfect 
harmony, and the general tone of the whole soft and subdu¬ 
ing. It is perhaps right that, while our own homes give 
evidence of a general prosperity, the house where we perio¬ 
dically meet to worship Him who dwelleth not in temples 
made with hands, should participate in the increasing com¬ 
fort, and be well ordered. 

The elaboration of the services, and their gradual assimi¬ 
lation to a liturgical form, is, however, a movement greatly 
to be deplored. Liturgies are in practice, if not in theory, 
creeds which seriously impede the progress of religious 
thought; while it also must be regiretted that grooves should 
be thus so easily provided for the aspirations of the soul to 
run in —aspirations, which to really benefit him Avho breathes 


88 


THE Esthetics of public worship. 


them must find their own road to their Divine object, fhe 
increasing desire to emulate cathedral choirs is only a feature 
of weakness when it finds a soil among the free churches. 
Music is not worship when it is simply listened to as a per¬ 
formance ; and if it be urged that it is the sacred words to 
which the music is arranged, that exercise a religious in¬ 
fluence upon the mind, I reply it is seldom that the words 
of an anthem can be distinguished, for it is impossible among 
the intricacies of fugues and canons to tell what words are 
being sung. 

That some there are who revel religiously—no ! I cannot 
even admit that,—let me say who revel sentimentally (using 
this word in its best term) in music, either accompanied or 
unaccompanied with words, I gladly acknowledge, but they 
are few among the attendants at our services. 

In short, what is worship ? Is it, as Mr. Martineau says, 

a natui'al and spontaneous utterance of a mind possessed 
by the conception of the infinite relations in which we stand, 
and aspiring towards a point of view worthy of their 
solemnity ?’^ If so, with what reason do we bestow so much 
attention on the forniy when after all it is the suhjecty which 
most nearly concerns us. Let us by all means obey the 
apostolic injunction and do everything decently and in order; 
but let not this wise precept be exceeded. 

Fetishism was essentially a sensual religion, and every 
advance made upon it was an advance from sensualism to 
something higher; and though our senses are as Divine a 
gift (in reference to their origin) as are our intellectual and 
mental powers, and while their gratification is a legitimately 
pleasurable object to be sought after, we must remember 
that each faculty has its own proper sphere, and, as a rule, 
when one power is in play all the others occupy but subor¬ 
dinate positions under it. When realising to ourselves (or 
rather, endeavouring so to do), the relations subsisting be- 


THE ESTHETICS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 89 

tween ourselves and the Unseen, our senses should and 
must be subordinated ; but as it is by the senses alone that 
we know, and are known by, our fellows, they must to a 
certain extent be called into action when we assemble to¬ 
gether for worship, though for the reasons alleged, we shall 
find our best interests promoted in inverse ratio to the 
prominency we give them, 



WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 

This may seem a strange question to ask in the year of 
grace 1875, and yet it is a question essentially necessary to 
ask. We might, indeed, put it in another and apparently a 
stranger form, and enquire, ‘‘Do we know anything of God; 
and, if so, what ? ” It is evident that the time is fast ap¬ 
proaching, or is even now, when nothing will be taken for 
granted; when teachers of theology (may we not include 
teachers of practical religion also ?) must bring their proofs 
with their doctrines. While the Positive philosophy, usually 
supposed to be the most advanced, asserts there are but few 
real Atheists, it seems unnecessary to enter into the discus¬ 
sion as to whether there is a God or not; suffice it to say that 
men everywhere have believed, and still do believe, in some 
Being or Beings superior to themselves. 

The name by which these are called matters absolutely 
nothing; our Supreme Being we call God, but he is the same 
as the Hindoos call Brahma; the two races worship the 
same Being though under different names, and in spite of 
their respective beliefs that the two Deities are different. If 
there is but one GOD, He must of course be the one 
universally worshipped; those who think they possess the 
highest spiritual conception of Him may, however, say to 
those whose worship is less spiritual, “ Him whom ye ignor¬ 
antly worship, declare we unto you ; ” but surely more than 
this they may not say ! Let missionaries of indiscrimation 
ponder it! 



WHAT HO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


9t 

‘^The highest spiritual conception;” yes, it is here that the 
difference lies; not in the name under which the Deity is 
known, but in the conceptions men have of Him, the ideas 
they associate with Him. The more corrupt and base the 
national life of any race is, the more corrupt and base we 
find the character of its Deity. 

India is a striking example of this. The original—the 
founder’s—conceptions of the Supreme Being are exceedingly 
pure and spiritual, and those who hold them in their purity 
may indeed be said to worship the Father in spirit and in 
truth. But the multitude, either unable to grasp this 
spirituality, or else not content with its simplicity, and 
“ preyed ” upon by the priests—those enemies to all progress 
human and divine—gradually sank into a base superstition, 
and the Supreme was represented as endowed with those evil 
qualities so rampant amongst themselves. 

To a certain extent this may be said to be the case with 
Protestants and Christians, for we do sincerely trust that He 
whom many of our orthodox friends worship, has no exist¬ 
ence, but is by them “ worshipped in ignorance ” of His real 
character ! 

It would seem (all this wrangling as to God’s attributes 
and plans concerning us, considered) as though nothing was 
known of God. If anything was definitely known of Him 
there surely would be peace between us. Even the Bible, 
that book which is commonly supposed to be an inspired 
authority, fails to set matters at rest; the interpretation of this 
same giving rise to no little party animosity. 

Were we to grant that something was definitely known of 
Him, to whom should we apply for this important knowledge? 
Each church would give a different view of His character. 
The more enlightened might perhaps refer us to the Bible, 
leaving us to form our own conclusions as to who and what 
the Supreme Being is. But this also would fail to satisfy us, 



92 


WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


for in its pages we find no fixed and unchanging representa¬ 
tion of Him. 

Every age had its own conceptions of the Deity • these, as 
the ages grew, ripened into that spiritual idea of Him held 
by Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary of Nazareth, and by 
the New Testament writers generally. 

We do not forget that the Old Testament writers here and 
there, by their bold denunciation of ceremonial observances 
(too often, alas, coupled with personal irreligion), and by 
their reiteration of the fact of God’s spirituality (in opposition 
to the prevalent materialistic views of Him), prove themselves 
to have had very high conceptions of the Deity; but candid 
inquirers must admit that such pure conceptions were not 
only by no means general, but that they were not then so 
confidently held as after by him who spake as never man 
spake. 

Perhaps this latter proposition should not be allowed to 
pass unsupported; but did not the success of Christ’s teach¬ 
ing arise mainly from his own enthusiasm ? Where do we 
read of the older Prophets gathering around themselves 
bands of followers, who had left all to follow them; and who 
in spite of their Master’s cruel death, continued the struggle 
against superstition and priestcraft? The disciples of Jesus, 
distressed and even dismayed at his crucifixion and rejection, 
(as no doubt they were) did, nevertheless, take up his word 
and preached “ the kingdom of heaven is at hand ! ” Then, 
as if to show that “ culture and sweetness ” had their worth, 
Paul, the great apostle as he is properly called, was brought 
to their aid. And, indeed, he was needed! When we 
remember the antecedents of those twelve—how some were 
fishermen, others taxgatherers, &c.; when we remember 
how sorely they tried the Master with their unbelief; when 
we remember, also, their attempts to force Jewish observ¬ 
ances on the Gentile converts;—we cannot but feel thankful 


WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


93 


that the intellectual yet enthusiastic Paul had accepted the 
teachings of the despised Galilean, and was able, not only 
to counteract the influence of these legalists, but also to 
bring them round to his view (44). 

I have been speaking of conceptions ” of God; and it is 
these conceptions which constitute our whole knowledge of 
Him. My own conviction is that no authoritative (in the 
usual acceptation of this term) declaration concerning Him 
exists ! A person who had studied in books only could not 
really and truly be said to know music, however well he 
could pass an examination in its theory. We must hear the 
sounds themselves, and make ourselves acquainted with 
rhythm and harmony. So is it with the theologian. He 
knows not God by abstract study, nor does he know Him by 
reading what others have said about Him, and then profess¬ 
ing to believe it. He only knows God who, in the depths 
of his consciousness, knows and feels there is a God; he 
who brings himself into attune with what he believes to be 
the best and purest ideal will find he knows God. 

God reveals Himself to those who seek him truly, and 
hence many a Church Doctor has missed him altogether. 
The experience of others is of course invaluable to us, but 
only in so far as we make that experience our own ! 

The Bible is of no use to us if we regard it as itself re¬ 
vealing God to us; it is of use only as giving us the experience 
of others, and as showing us the way to the Father. What 
men know of God, therefore, they cannot prove to others; 
indeed it is impossible to prove to another that there is a 
God. We may feel it ourselves, but the most we can do 
when trying to persuade men of the existence of a Being 


(44) See R. W. Mackay’s paper on MecJianisvn in the ‘’Theological 
Review,” 1871. I do not remember ever to have met with so forcible a 
statement of the issues involved in Paul’s controversy with the other 


94 


WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


superior to themselves is to appeal to their own conscious¬ 
ness. 

Nor need we fear to openly avow the darkness which thus 
hides the Invisible. Truth must prevail eventually, and 
history tells us it has ever suffered most from those who 
were its professed friends. 

Besides, it appears to me the most reasonable view to take 
of the matter. If by any possibility God could be made 
apparent to our senses, we might of course demand objective 
proof of His existence before consenting to it. But it is not 
so ; “ no man hath seen God at any time,” and the only 
proof of his being ” must be subjective. It may be asked, 
why, if such be the case, do the (apparent) evidences of His 
existence and character accumulate ? In other words, how 
it comes to pass that man has not those crude notions con¬ 
cerning the Deity that his ancestors had in past centuries ; 
and how is it that the platform of one age should be, in such 
matters, but the stepping stone to a still higher platform in 
the succeeding age ? 

The answer is plain; the thought of a Being superior to 
ourselves is universal; there is no man but believes in the 
existence of a higher power than his own; therefore, what 
one generation learns for itself of the Deity it leaves as 
a heritage (a heritage, however, which cannot be suc¬ 
ceeded to) to the next; each generation adding to, and 
purifying, the experience and ideas of the past. To appeal 
to a man for belief in a Deity is but to appeal to something 
in him which is common to all men ; and man’s natural in¬ 
stincts are the same now as ever they were. 

Besides, knowledge of God may be said to be comparable 
with knowledge of other things; the uncertainties of one age 
become the certainties of the next; hence the appeal for 
assent to the statement that a God exists is made to that in 
us which has been growing and strengthening for centuries. 


WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


95 


On the other hand (for this subject has many sides) we 
have no tangible product of these strugglings after God 
through long centuries. What each one of us must do, if 
we wish to prove to ourselves that there is a God, is to bring 
to the test what has been said and written concerning Him. 
What we ourselves cannot prove is not true to us, though it 
may be true to others; we have each to think out—to make 
as it were—God for ourselves ! 

From the nature of the case, therefore, we cannot collectively 
know anything of God. We can happily know something of 
Him, but it must be individually, though spiritual experiences 
may of course be compared, and found helpful in the univer¬ 
sal search after the Infinite. 

But while few deny the existence of a God, there are 
more who doubt his personality; yet even these are few com¬ 
pared to the overwhelming majority who do believe that God 
is something more than a mere abstraction ,• call it force or 
what we will. 

It may be from education and early training; it may be, 
let us hope it is, by deep spiritual experiences; but it is a 
fact, for which in our opinion we cannot be too thankful, 
that most of us believe in a God, the Creator and Father of 
all. It is a matter of thankfulness because man’s nature 
seems to require a belief in some one greater than himself. 
An ambition, an inspiration for something higher and nobler 
than himself, is a most encouraging and hopeful element in 
a man’s character; it ennobles and purifies him; and because 
natural, it is, we venture to say, legitimate in its hopes. 

It does not however follow that if, as a correlative to men’s 
best desires, an object worthy of these desires exists, that the 
object should be within our reach and present comprehension. 
It may possibly be, and probably is, the fact, that man can 
best be drawn upwards by an mvisible agency; that being 
both body and spirit (the former perishing as we know) 


96 


WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


9piritU3.1 influences nlone Ccin exercise tli 9 ,t power over liim 
which the best of men have acknowledged feeling. 

Man is overreaching forth to the things of infinity; endeav¬ 
ouring to comprehend the laws of the vast universe, and 
trying to solve questions which a//// arise concerning his own 
being and destiny; and this, while apparently proving the 
existence of an infinite Being; the cause of all, also helps to 
explain why this Being should be so hidden from our eyes, 
so veiled from our material, mathematical curiosity. Now are 
we drawn up and out of ourselves; then should we be study¬ 
ing dry propositions. Now are we earnest seekers after 
truth; then—^ spiritual wants being supplied,—should we 
be contented dwellers in the clay. 

Yet this Being whom we call God, and whom we argue 
from all around us must be One, Supreme, Creator, has not 
left man without a witness to Himself. The very yearnings 
after ‘‘more light” seems incontestably to prove there is 
more light beyond, and also, if more light, the source of that 
light itself. 

It has been said there are nations still existing in whose 
language there is no word for God to be found. I cannot 
really think such to be the case. Surely, no race of men 
exists but what believes in one or more superior beings to 
themselvesare there any peoples who have no belief in an 
after life ? The very Indians, a people who have been left 
to themselves for ages, have some faith in a spirit world, 
and in a Great Spirit who rules there. 

Is there not a light that lighteth every man who is born 
into the world? does not a consciousness that there is 
some one greater than ourselves come to each one of us at 
some period of our lives ? 

But we cannot rest here; to feel there is a God and not to 
strive after greater knowledge of him is impossible. Men 


WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


97 

have ever thought of a Deity, and their own condition has to 
a large extent decided as to the nature of that Deity. 

It is not given to every nation to furnish to the world a 
model of discipline and order as the Romans did; nor is it 
given to every nation to be what the ancient Greeks were, 
models of refinement and of art cultivation ; neither has it 
been the lot of every nation to furnish to the world such rich 
stores of spiritual literature as the Jews have done. 

An Eastern Sheikh, impressed with the folly of his tribe in 
worshipping dumb idols and the hosts of heaven, left his 
country and his kindred, feeling ‘‘ called ” to go elsewhere 
and worship Him whom it was evident was above all and in 
all, and who, besides, was unseen. 

The Sheikh’s family increased, and a few years saw a large 
tribe, and then a nation, whose leaders, at any rate, had in¬ 
herited the grand faith of its founder; and who believed 
themselves to be special favourites of the great Jehovah. 
This belief influenced all their actions, and we find their 
literature teeming with allusions to Him, and His protection 
of them. Under these circumstances it was imperative that 
Jehovah should be in some way described to the multitude, 
and new thoughts concerning Him would be continually 
occurring. Nevertheless it was inevitable that among the un¬ 
educated commonalty the purer conceptions of the Deity 
should quickly lose their spirituality, and degraded notions 
concerning him take their place ; especially does it seem so 
to us when we remember how rapidly the power and influence 
of the priests grew; a class of men whose interest it was to 
keep others from a true knowledge of the Deity. 

In opposition however to these, arose a line of faithful 
men—faithful to their consciousness—who continually pro¬ 
tested against the gross superstition of their countrymen, 
and who averred from their own experience that Jehovah 
delighted not in burnt offerings and sacrifices, not even 


G 


^8 


whAt do we know of god ? 


should these reach to thousands of rams and ten thousands 
of rivers of oil, and should the very fruits of one’s loins be 
given for the sin of one’s soul. No ! those who desired to 
propitiate Him must do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly 
before Him. This same experience taught them also, what 
they would never have learnt from the priests, that the Deity, 
who was at the same time the Creator, was a Father to His 
children. Indeed, it was impossible to invest Jehovah with 
the characteristics peculiar to men without investing him also 
with their moral qualities,—-generosity, benevolence, fatherly 
feeling, &c.,—though, from reasons already stated, none but 
the mentally and spiritually free would carry speculation so 
far. 

This prophetic conception of God grew in intensity until 
• Jesus Christ, the great prophet and staunch opposer of the 
priests, gave the world such conceptions of the universal 
Father as have perhaps never been excelled. 

As these later centuries have inherited the traditions of 
ancient Rome and Greece, so have they also come into the 
glorious heritage bequeathed by the Jewish' nation; the 
Psalms of David express our wants and thanksgivings as 
they did those of the second Jewish king. We cannot 
exceed in beauty and pathos the sublime utterances of the 
prophets of the captivity; while no prayers ever yet compos¬ 
ed have equalled for conciseness and grand simplicity the one 
taught by the carpenter’s son of Nazareth to his. disciples, 
commencing. “Our Father who art in heaven.” 

It is only reasonable to suppose that the result of the 
experiences and intuitions of hundreds of generations cannot 
be altogether wrong; the more so when we notice how each 
century broadens the idea, and makes the Father of a family 
the Father of the universe. As we ourselves grow in purity 
of thought and in spirituality of conception, so does our ideal 
of God open out likewise. 




WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


99 


But do we find in our own experience that the Great One 
who is evidently the first cause, is a personal Father and 
Friend ? We answer, yes! it is possible to verify to our¬ 
selves the hopes and beliefs of past generations ; we can by 
the ^ exercise of those peculiar, subtle, and undefinable 
spiritual powers, discern Him who alone can be the Father 
of our spirits. He may not, of course, be in Himself per¬ 
sonal, as we understand the term (such a phrase may be only 
applicable to our present condition), but He may be personal 
to us, and that without doing violence to any teaching of 
science or logic. When we do right; when we deny our¬ 
selves for the good of others ; when, at some personal cost, 
perhaps, we benefit some fellow-creature, we are at ease with 
ourselves ; our consciences approve us ; we feel that we are 
working for Him, who we are told “worketh hitherto/’ that 
in short we are one with the first cause and prime mover of 
all things. What meaning may we not find in John’s 
encouraging statement to his beloved disciples : If our heart 
condemn us not, have we confidence towards God.” 

It maybe I shall be told these are but the imaginings of a 
fertile brain; and I readily admit the extreme difficulty of the 
subject; but for my own part I am convinced there is some¬ 
thing in our nature which cannot be reconciled with the fact 
of there being no God ; and if, therefore, we believe in His 
existence we are constrained to consider Him personal as re¬ 
gards ourselves. 

But it must be remembered that on reciprocal grounds 
can we find the Father; we have to '' seek Him if Aaj^/y we 
may find Him ; ” God does not come to us without our 
seeking Him. Opposed as is this view to popular, especially 
orthodox, notions, I nevertheless maintain its truth : (inas_ 
much though as our natural yearnings after God may be re 
garded as God first seeking us, the popular notion is correct 
but only in this sense). It is impossible for a man to sit idly 


lOO 


WHAT DO WE KNOW OF GOD ? 


down, as it were, and await a “visitation” from the Most 
High; he must strive after Him with deep soul-longings. To 
feel the Creator, the Great God, to be our Father, we inust 
ourselves be as His children. And is this all we know of 
God ? Can we learn nothing of His power and love; His 
tenderness and compassion; His mercy and strengthening 
influences ? To all which I reply, God may be our 
FATHER, if we choose to make him so. 





OUR CHILDREN’S PRAYERS. 

To us it is but of little importance what the result will be 
of the recent dispute concerning the practical utility of 
special Prayer. Indeed, so far as any definite result is to be 
anticipated, it is useless to hope; but were such a result— 
were a verdict, yea or nay—to be obtained, it would, as we 
have said, be of little importance to us. We do not believe the 
rinderpest or cholera are to be averted on account of any 
prayers that may be offered to the Almighty. His indeed 
are the cattle upon a thousand hills, but to man as His vice¬ 
gerent is their welfare relegated ; we are His offspring, but it 
avails us nothing to enquire concerning our neighbour, ‘‘Am 
/ my brother’s keeper ? ” There are certain laws of health, 
certain standards of cleanliness, which we full well know can¬ 
not be disregarded or only partially attended to, without 
seriously affecting for the worse the condition of man and 
beast. 

Where such laws are disobeyed—where little or no pro¬ 
vision is made for supplies of pure food and fresh air, 
rinderpest and cholera follow as natural consequences, and 
it is useless, nay, rather is it not blasphemous to beseech 
Him of whom nature is but the cloak—the Revealer,—to 
make null his own laws; in other words to contradict himself? 

Nor is it less opposed to all our notions of the divine 
government to pray for speedy recovery from dangerous ill¬ 
ness ; or to seek Heaven’s aid in baffling the angel of death. 
Natural (or God’s) laws will, and must have their full play, 
and only by strict attention to such laws can we obtain any 



l02 


OUR children’s prayers. 


benefit possible from them. A profligate man is no more 
safe from accidents by travel than a philanthropist, provided 
both take the same precautions against such. If the 
philanthropist fail to take the necessary measures, Providence 
will not interpose to spare him because he is a philanthropist; 
neither will the profligate one be cut off in spite of his mse 
precautions. The Almighty does not so stultify himself as 
thus to arbitrarily interfere vfith those wise and beneficent 
laws, which, regarded as a whole, are called “ Nature.” 

Thinking in this manner of the Spirit who rules the Uni¬ 
verse—remembering how little, how very little, we know of 
God—it will not be amiss to consider how we should teach 
our children to think of Him. Our own past experiences— 
we remember how we were taught to regard God, and Christ, 
and the devil, &c.—prompt us to say as little as possible^to 
our children, lest one day they may regret our having 
taught them so much which they would willingly forget, but 
which a superstitious fear continually recalls. Our OAVn faith 
and hope forbid us to treat with other than a smile the 
argument which dogmatic churches would here confront us 
with, “ Be careful they do not blame you for teaching them 
so little,” because we cannot so conceive of an all-wise and 
holy God eternally punishing his creatures for what they 
could not help ; besides, we have no idea of a man calling 
that his own for which he has not worked. 

If we deem it best to teach oiir children as little as 
possible about the Deity—Cleaving them to work out the 
problem even as we have worked it out for ourselves (or 
rather, are now working at it)—^^vhat shall that little be, and 
at what age shall we commence ? 

As the former depends largely upon the answer we give 
to the latter, let us consider this first. And at the outset we 
have to confess our inability to lay down any rule, for 


OUR children’s prayers. 103 

children differ so much that what would be food to a child < 
of six, might be poison to another child of twelve. 

My own eldest child, (a boy of five) is fond of being 
talked to when he is in bed, and his mother having once or 
twice said the Lord’s prayer to him, he often asks to hear 
our daily bread.” On more than one occasion, when rest¬ 
less and unable to sleep, he has called his mother up for the 
purpose of saying it to him, and then has immediately added, 
almost before the last words were out of her mouth, “ and 
now say, ‘ Sing a song of sixpence ! ’ ” The child has heard 
of persons dying, (as what child has not ?) and of course has 
asked why people died, and where heaven is. He has 
frequently asked if there are ’busses and carriages in heaven, 
and whether he will be able to play there ; to all such ques¬ 
tions, I need scarcely say, I always give an answer in the 
affirmative, for how can I say otherwise, not knowing the 
contrary ? 

A parent will find it quite enough to teach a child two 
things—obedience and kindness. These well taught will 
prepare a foundation upon which the noblest of characters 
may afterwards be reared. Obedience, a cheerful, ready 
obedience, not begotten by fear, but prompted by trust and 
love; kindness to those around him, not caring to pain 
them even by word or look; and to the dumb animals, dis¬ 
liking to crush a worm, or to injure a fly; and to the flowers 
(for they also have life and beauty), never heedlessly destroy¬ 
ing a single bud or leaf. Here is work enough for any 
parent, without having to tell the child of things too deep for 
him. It is difficult for us grbwn up men and women to 
conceive of God, to concentrate our thoughts upon Him, 
without at the same time picturing Him to our minds as a 
man of like passions to ourselves; but for the sake of genera¬ 
tions yet unborn, who we hope will live in a brighter light 
than we enjoy, and grasp spiritual realities which to us are 


104 OUR children’s prayers. 

but as shadows in the night, let us avoid all teaching which 
shall produce that tendency in our children. 

And what after all can we teach them ? The more we 
probe our hearts, the more we try over our thoughts of Him, 
the less do we feel inclined to say, “ God is good ; He made 
all things—you and me. He is all-powerful; He sends the 
rain and the sunshine,” &c. For all this may be true to 
ourselves, but it is not, cannot be true to our children. “ If 
God is good,” say they, “ if God is all-powerful, and can do 
anything, why does He let wicked people live ? Why does 
He send the rain when I want to go out ? And why does 
He not let us live in a fine house with a nice garden ?” 
And so on, as we know children do talk. Unless a child gets 
a satisfactory answer to his questions an injury is done him ; 
a slight injury perhaps, but still an injury, and many such 
will constitute a serious one. Yet what satisfactory answer 
can be given to such questions as these ? (45) 

It is the custom to teach our children the Lord’s prayer as 
soon as they can lisp, and much “ sentiment” is talked of 
their saying this at their mother’s knee ; but what, I ask, in 
the name of all that is sacred in childhood, is the use of 
putting phrases into a child’s mouth which you yourself 
cannot explain, and which he, if he takes it in at all, takes 
in literally't 

Surely materialism has enough to answer for besides the 
charge of having so completely, materialised from infancy all 
our notions of the other world as to make it a life-long task 
to attain unto its spirituality. 

“ Our Father, who art in heaven.” What a glorious thing 
to be able to say from the veiy bottom of our hearts ! feeling 
that the Creator is our father, and that we have a something 
in us—a spirit, that answers to His nature. 

(45) If God gives us daily bread, why does Pa go to business?is a very 
natural query. 


OUR children’s prayers. 


105 


“ Our Father, who art in heaven.” What an unmeaning 
phrase on the lips of a little child. He cannot quite under¬ 
stand why he should have two fathers and only one mother 
(of the two, perhaps, he needs the latter most), that he should 
be able to see only one of them, and that the other is in 
heaven, a place far above the moon and stars ; whereas, in a 
few years’ time he will be taught that heaven is not a place, 
but rather a condition. Let us remember that Jesus Christ 
gave this prayer to men who asked Him how they should 
pray. 

When, then, we talk of imparting Religion to a child, let 
us not confound it with Theology; for Religion has simply 
to do with our outward conduct, which is of course prompted 
by inward motives. 

When we talk of a religious man, we immediately picture 
to ourselves one who loves his fellow-men, and who labours 
for their good. Not a thought however suggests itself as to 
his soundness ” or orthodoxy; his religion is that outward 
conduct which has gained for him the reputation of being a 
“ religious man.” It is true that one almost necessarily con¬ 
siders such an one to be God-fearing; to be in constant 
communion with his God ; to enjoy spiritual fellowship with 
the Unseen ; but we never ask ourselves as to what his par- 
ticular beliefs are; suffice it that he visits the fatherless and 
the widow, and keeps himself from the prevalent modes of 
sinfulness. 

With the Theologian however it is different; the very name 
conjures up endless" controversies; bitter quarrels, cruel per¬ 
secutions ; in short it excludes—strange to say !—all ideas of 
Religion. Among the multitude. Religion has to bear the 
odium and hatred which has so characterized Theology that 
the term “ odium Theologicum ” has passed into a proverb 1 
(How are the mighty fallen, indeed !) 

Of course the confusion has arisen from each new school 


Io6 OUR children’s prayers. 

of Theology appropriating to itself all Christianity, and pro¬ 
claiming “salvation” (whatever that may mean) in its dogmas 
alone, to the exclusion of all others. The motive power, the 
incentive to “ Religion,” the cause, has come to be known 
by the name of its would-be-result ! Alas that Religion, our 
duty, pleasure, and delight, should be so degraded as to be¬ 
come the caller-to-mind of everything that is mean, base, and 
wicked—of that which is its own natural enemy ! 

Regarded in this light, it will of course be conceded that 
Religious and not Theological education must be imparted 
to our children; and yet perhaps not entirely conceded 
either, for our definition of Religion, it will be noticed, omits 
mention of the final cause—of God ! 

Yet Religion must eventually be so regarded ; the farther 
we leave our mental infancy behind, and endeavour to 
penetrate the thick darkness which environs the eternal;— 
the deeper we try to gauge that fathomless unknown which 
surrounds us on every side;—the farther off from our conceiv¬ 
ableness, or even thinkableness, must He appear, whom, 
whether as Mind, or Spirit, or Force, we regard as the 
absolute—as the unknown cause of things ! 

And yet with all this pushing back into remote and still 
remoter darkness that Being whom we call God, it cannot for 
a moment be granted that our Religion also dwindles into a 
philosophical abstract. Though by no means so familiar 
with the Deity as the Theologian is, the Philosopher never¬ 
theless feels himself at one with the Spirit of the Universe ; 
and while professing his ignorance as to the modes of dealing 
God adopts with His children, and with which the sects are 
so cognisant (though withal so much at variance about!), he 
yet would not exchange for their self-gratifying assumptions 
that inward peace to which he has attained, partly by means 
of that very profession (of ignorance), and partly by his more 
perfect understanding of the order of things. 





OUR children’s prayers. 


107 

If then such men exist, and there are many such, who^ 
while hesitating to affirm anything of God, are yet religious 
in their lives and conduct, it goes far to prove how foolish 
and sentimental is much of the talk one hears about a 
‘‘religious” education. In an interesting essay on “Herder, 
as a Theologian,” in the October number of the Theoloff- 
cal Review^ (1872), the following is given as his definition of 
Religion:— 

“ Religion is the acknowledgement in feeling, thought, and 
conduct, of the laws of our existence. It is the profound 
conviction of what we are as parts of the world, and what we 
ought to be and to do as men. This conviction is in¬ 
stinctive, a voice of conscience, our nature itself testifying 
what man is and should be. The religious man, thereforcj 
is the conscientious man, with reverence and joy recognizing 
the will of God concerning himself in his own structure, and 
endeavouring with great painstaking to obey it by the 
development and perfecting of this nature. Thus the end of 
his Religion is humanity^ or the attainment of his true man. 
hood.” 

Tupper talks sentiment when he tells parents to “ teach 
the feeble knees their bending;” it is the will, the conscience 
of a child that needs training; it is his duty to those about 
him that should be his first care, and if the strong knees and 
willing heart be laid low before the shrine of the Invisible^— 
but yet of Him who is inwardly felt and recognized—in after 
years, it is all that can possibly be required of us. 

If a man love not his brother whom he hath seen, how 
can he love God whom he hath not seen? We do not argue 
from the greater, but from the less to the greater. Our 
immediate duties are our most important ones, and Reli^on 
consists not in “ correct ” views of God and of our relations 
to Him (for these can never be attained in this life, and the 
attempt to attain them, which by the bye is lawful enough, is 


Io8 OUR children’s prayers. 

work for after and maturer years), but in doing that which 
we know we ought to do in our daily conduct and treatment 
of our fellow-men. 

To quote from Mr. Smith’s essay once more :— 

“ I am not bound as a Christian to accept as true all that 
there may be reason to believe that Jesus himself taught.” 

Therefore I allow myself the greatest freedom in dealing 
with those principles he inculcated. If I find it stated that 
Jesus affirmed the first great commandment to be “ Thou 
Shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind and strength 
and heart,” and the second, “ Thou shalt love thy neighbour 
as thyself,” I hesitate not to reverse their order, and say we 
must first love our brother whom we have seen, and then learn 
to love God whom we have not seen ! 

Nor do I make the first statement false by this treatment. 
Taking into account the circumstances which called forth 
this dictum; remembering the Theological standpoint of 
those Jews to whom it was addressed, we think the statement 
was wise and good. Now, however, the aspect of things is 
changed; all liberal thinkers prize most those conceptions of 
God which they have themselves thought out, and would 
willingly drop out of remembrance (for their baneful effects 
more than counter-balance their educational value) those 
material ideas of the Deity imparted to them in their child¬ 
hood. 

And who will deny that the present liberal conception of 
God may be as materialistic to a future generation . as our 
early conceptions were as compared with our present know¬ 
ledge? 

But what it may be asked, shall we do when our children 
ask the meaning of our devotions, of our church-going, 
of such words as God, Jesus, eternity, &c. ? The answers 
we should give must be left to each of us, individually; 
so much depends upon the age of the child, upon his men- 



OUR children’s prayers. 


109 


tal capacity, and upon his parents’ ability to explain, that no 
definite reply can be given. 

There are things which childhood 7 nust leave to a future 
day, and there are many actions of his parents which cannot 
be explained ; a child must take many things on trust; it is 
his “religion” to do so quietly. It may not however be 
amiss to say we go to church to worship God with others, and 
then to anticipate further questions by telling them they will 
some day understand it, and go too; but would it not be 
better to say we also have our work and duty to do, and to 
know that work and duty so as to do them well, we find it 
helpful to hear what others have to tell us about them \ that 
we have lessons to learn, &c. ? 

But whatever we do let us be careful what we say to our 
children ; above all things, while teaching them the religious¬ 
ness of saying what they mean, and meaning what they say^ 
let us impress upon them, when they do learn to pray, the 
exceeding reality of what seems to be no reality; and also the 
utter futility of their expecting answers to prayer, in those 
cases where everything depends upon their own exertions and 
will. Why should we who have attained unto deeper mean¬ 
ings of the Universe, and at the same time, freed ourselves 
from superstitious fears and sentimental ideas, teach our 
children those things which we ourselves have outgrown, and 
which will only result in hindering them from entering into 
the higher spiritual life so early as they otherwise might do ? 



WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 


MUSIC IN THE WESTERN CHURCH : A History of 
Psalmody, from the First Century down to the Present 
Time; with Illustrations of the Music of the various 
Periods .'—Two Shillings. 

“ The work is extremely interesting .”—Musical Times. 

“ It is a most interesting narrative .”—Belfast Evening Press. 

“A well-written history of church music.”— Echo. 

It is carefully and thoughtfully written, 


THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL; Its Origin, History, and 
Customs, with some Carols .—Price Eighteenpence. 

‘‘ Carols, quaint lore, and poetry give a dash of pic^uancy to this 
pleasant little volume,”— Echo. 


A SUMMARY OF MR. HERBERT SPENCER’S FIRST 
PRINCIPLES .—Price One Shilling. (Out of Print at 
^Present) 

Published by F. Pitman, London, 


FOLK LORE AND FAIRY TALES. A Most Accept¬ 
able Book to that large and increasing class of Readers 
who are becoming more and more interested in the 
Study of Words and Folk Lore, as revealing somewhat 
of the Social Condition of the Parents of our Race.—■ 
P)'ice Two Shillings. 

Published by J. Arrowsmith, Bristol. 








ONE HUNDRED SONGS, 

With Melodies, Original and Selected. By James Ballantine. 

On Toned Paper, in handsome binding, Cloth Extra, Gilt Edges, price 53, Post free fo* 
64 stamps; m Tartan Boards, 7s 6d, PosC'^ee for 94 stamps. 

Sjpedmen Page, 


CASTLES m THE AIR. 


Music adapted by K. AuAm 

Published with Accompaniinenta by David Swan, Glasgotr. 





1 , 



N fS fS! _1 

— 

fS ! •»* 



rj 

' “1 i^-v-1 

m—d 


L d 

: ^ ^ g m 


Laughin’ at the fuf - fin’ Towe— what sees he there? 


rB-. -^ 

»- — -T-CT—1 

N — -N — ic-r- ■ 



w 



• : 1 


p ■■ » . n ^ -J -H- 

ali. 

iJ 1 

^- > -1 




Hal the young dreamer’s biggin’ castles in the air. 



His wee chubby face, an’ his touzie curly pow, Are laughin’ an’ noddin’ 


^—f— ^ V ■ %- -is_ -iv — - 

A -1 -fi_ N 1 



'j • d - i ~i n •«' 1 • • 1 ■ 

S Lz _• ■ • ii^ -iU-d d 5 - 

• 0 •* * — 


to the, dancin’ lowe; He’ll brown his rosy cheeks, an’ singe his sunny hair, 


tB-. -z—1 


■ .N—; - - ■ 


r 1 

. 0 "IN' DJ 

J m J 


17 V ^ P - 5 - 


r r 

m • r d J 1 




1 > ' 0 - a 

• ' 


lllow’rin’ at the imps vri’ their castles in the air. 


GLASGOW: JOHN S. MAKE & SONS, 194 Buchanan Street, 




































































































JUST FUBUISHEU, 

In handsome Cloth Bevelled Boards, extra Gilt, with Illustrated 
Title, in large Imperial Octavo. 

Price FIVE SHILLINGS, ^ost free for 70 Stamps. 

YOU.NO FOLKS’ SONG-S, 

(SACRED,) 

Arranged with Pianoforte Accompaniments 

By W. M. MILLEK. 


This Selection of Sacred Songs (60 in number) has been made with great 
care. It comprises most of the old favourite Hymns, and furnishes not a 
few which are not so well known as, owing to their merits, they are likely 
to be. Though specially adapted to the young, the Selection contains a 
few Hymns equally suited to those of riper years. 

Great attention has been given to the music; nothing has been admitted 
which was thought not to harmonise with the purpose of Sacred Songs, or 
to be beneath the existing standard of musical taste_ and attainments. 
The harmonies have been made very simple, and it is hoped that the 
young folks will not find their little fingers unduly tasked. 

--— 

UNIFORM WITH ABOVE. 

YOUNG FOLKS’ SONGS, 

(SECULAR). 

The present Publication is intended as a companion volume to Young 
Folks’ Sacred So 7 igs. It has been compiled and edited on the same 
principles, and is confidently expected speedily to become an equal' 
favourite with our young friends. i 

Whilst many of the old and deservedly favourite pieces have beeui 
retained, the greatest number of the Songs will be found comparatively 
or altogether new. In making the selections, strict regard has been paid 
to purity of sentiment, poetic beauty, and adaptation to the youthful' 
mind. The music, whilst not too difficult, will be found pure, and in 
full harmony with the rising standard of musical taste and attainment. 


GLASGOW: 

JOHN S. SONS, 

194 BUCHANAN STREET. 






MUSIC BOOKS, SONG BOOKS, 


AND OTHER 

POPULAR WORKS, 

PUBLISHED BY 


OHN 




& S, 


ARR Oj pOKS, 


Successors to the late George Cameron, 


194 BUCHANAN STREET, 

GLASGOW. 


JOHN S. MARK & SONS request special attention to the 
Music Books, Song Books, Novels, and other Books in the fol‘ 
loiving Lists. New and improved Editions of all these have lately 
been issued, and will now he found to he not only the cheapest hut also 
the most popular works of the kind published. Copies may he had 
either through the Booksellers, or direct from the Publishers, post 
free, on forwarding the required number of postage stamps. 


GLASGOW: 

JOHN S. MARK & SONS, 194 BUCHANAN STREET;’ 

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 





BOOKS 

PUBLISHED BY 

JOHN S. MARE & SONS, 

194 Buchanan Street, Glasgow. 


FOR THE CONCERTINA. 

MABRS^ CONCERTINA PRECEPTOR, or Pocket Guide to 

the Art of Playing the Concertina; containing Lessons on the Eudiments 
of Music, full Instructions and Scales, and a variety of popular Airs, 
marked and figured, progressively arranged for Beginners. Price 4d.; 
post free for 6 stamps. 

MARRS’ CONCERTINA TUTOR: a new and greatly im¬ 
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Music, Instructions, Scales, and a variety of popular Airs, accurately 
marked and figured throughout. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

HARRS’ 350 TUNES FOR THE CONCERTINA. This is 

the best and largest collection of Tunes for this favourite Instrument that 
has yet appeared. Price Is.; post free for 14 stamps. 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF CONCERTINA SIUSIC (uniform 

with “Concertina Tutor”); 206 of the most favourite Melodies of all 
Nations accurately marked and figured throughout. Price Is.; post free 
for 13 stamps. 

HARRS’ SELECTION OF SACRED MUSIC FOR THE 

CONCEETINA; 141 of the most popular Tunes, marked and figured 
throughout. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

HARRS’ CONCERTINA MELODIST: a choice Selection of 

English, Irish, and Scottish Melodies, Airs from the Operas, Cliristy’s 
Minstrel Songs, &c., all marked and figui'ed for the German Concertina, 
with Instructions for Playing. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

HARRS’ CONCERTINA COMPANION. This Book con- 

tg-ins above 100 New and Popular English, Irish, Scotch, and American 
Airs, several of them copyright. In music folio, price 6d.; post free for 
7 stamps. 



JOHN S. MARK S JSONS. 


3 


MARIIS’ SELECTION OE 140 TUNES EOR THE CON- 

CEPtTINA. This will be found to be the cheapest and best selection of 
Tunes for the Concertina published. In music folio, price 6d.; cost free 
for 7 stamps. 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF ARMY AND NAVY TUNES 

FOR THE CONCERTINA. In music folio, price 6d.; post free for 7 
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MARRS’ SELECTION OF DANCE TUNES FOR THE CON¬ 
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FOR THE CONCERTINA. 112 New and Popular Tunes, in music 
folio, price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

MARRS’ REPOSITORY OF CONCERTINA MUSIC. 100 

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7 stamps. 

MARRS’ GEMS OF MUSIC FOR THE CONCERTINA. ^ In 

music folio, price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF SCOTTISH SONGS, arranged for 

the Concertina, Words and Music. This will be found to be a selection 
of the best Scotch Songs, with the music carefully marked and figured. 
40 pp. imperial 8vo. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

m:arrs’ selection of CHRISTY’S minstrel songs, 

arranged for the Concertina, Words and Music. A selection of the most 
popular Christy’s Minstrel Songs. 40 pp. imperial 8vo, price 6d.; post 
free for 7 stamps. 


FOR TFIE PIANO-FORTE, 

MARRS’ PIANO-FORTE TUTOR; a new and simple In¬ 
struction Book, containing complete Lessons to enable the Learner to.play 
the Piano-forte easily and thoroughly. It also contains Twenty-seven 
popular Tunes, progressively arranged for Beginners. In music folio, price 
Is.; post free, 14 stamps. 

YOUNG FOLKS’ SONGS— SACRED, arranged with Piano¬ 
forte Accompaniments by W. M. Miller. A selection of 60 Sacred 
Songs, comprising a number of the old favourite Hyhins and a few not 
so w°ell known as, owing to their merits, they are likely to become. Though 
specially adapted for the young, the selection contains a few Hymns 
equally suited to those of riper years. Great attention has been paid to 
the Music, the harmonies being simple and not likely to overtask the little 
fingers. Handsomely bound in cloth, bevelled boards, extra gilt, with 
Illustrated Title. Price 5s.; post free, 70 stamps. 

YOUNG FOLKS’ SONGS—SECULAR, arranged with Piano¬ 
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a companion to Young Folks’ Sacred. Handsomely bound in cloth, 
bevelled boards, extra gilt, with Illustrated Title. Price 5s.; post free, 
70 stamps. 







4 


JOHN S. MARR & SONS. 


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ACCORDION PRECEPTOR, or the Pocket Guide to the 

Art of Playing the Accordion and Plutina; containing a course of Lessons 
on Music, complete Instructions and Scales, and a Selection of Tunes, 
Sacred and Secular, carefully marked and figured throughout, and ar¬ 
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ACCORDION AND ELTTTINA TUTOR; a new and greatly 

improved Insteuction Book; containing a concise Series of Lessons in 
Music, with Instructions, Scales, and a variety of Popular Airs, accur¬ 
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ACCORDION MADE EASY: a Collection of 150 Easy Tunes, 

carefully marked and figured, progressively arranged for Beginners. Price 
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SELECTION OF ACCORDION AND FLUTINA MUSIC 

(uniform with “Accoedion and Flutina Tutoe”); containing 174 of the 
choicest Melodies of all Countries, correctly marked and figured through¬ 
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ments which has yet appeared. Price Is.; post free for 13 stamps. 


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Music, with Instructions, Scales, and a Selection of Airs, arranged in an 
easy and progressive style. Price 4d.; post free for 5 stamps. 

MARRS’ VIOLIN TUTOR: a new and greatly improved In¬ 
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Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

MARRS» SELECTION OF VIOLIN MUSIC (uniform with 

“Violin Tutoe”); contaimng 233 of the most Popular Airs, Marches, 
Strathspeys, Keels, Hornpipes, Jigs, Country Dances, Quicksteps, Quad¬ 
rilles, Polkas, &c., each page forming a complete Medley. This is the 
best and largest collection ever offered for the money, four times its price 
having been formerly charged for half the number of pieces. Price Is.; 
post free for 13 stamps. 

POPULAR DUET BOOR: a Selection of favourite Airs, ar¬ 
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free for 28 stamps. 




JOHN S. MARR S RONS, 


5 


FOR THE FLUTE. 

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the Flute; containing complete Course of Lessons on Music, with In¬ 
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Price 4d.; post free for 5 stamps. 

MARRS’ FLUTE TUTOR: a new and greatly improved In¬ 
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of Lessons in Music, Instructions, Scales, and a variety of popular Airs. 
Price 6d.; post hee for 7 stamps. 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF 100 TUNES FOR THE FLUTE. 

In foolscap 4to. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

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4 stamps. 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF FLUTE MUSIC (uniform with 

“Flute Tutor”); 237 favourite Melodies of all kinds, set in the keys 
most suitable for the Flute, forming the largest and most complete Collec¬ 
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POPULAR DUET BOOK: a cnoice Selection of favourite 

Airs, arranged as Duets and Trios for two or three Flutes, Cloth, price 
2 s.; post free for 28 stamps. 


VOCAL MUSIC. 

MARRS’ VOCAL TUTOR: containing a concise series of 

Lessons in Music, Instructions, and Scales, for the formation and improve¬ 
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Catches. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

ONE HUNDRED SONGS: with Melodies, Original and Se¬ 
lected, by James Ballantyne, author of “Castles in the Air,” &c., on toned 
paper and extra binding. Price 5s.; post free for 64 stamps. In tartan 
boards, 7s. 6d.; post free for 94 stamps. 

SONGS OF ROBERT BURNS: Words and Music of 83 of 

his choicest Songs. Price 3d.; post free for 4 stamps. 

YOUNG FOLKS’ SONGS—SACRED, see p. 3. 
j)q^ Do. —SECULAR, see p. 3 . 






6 


JOHN S. MARR & SONS. 


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NATIONAL MELODIES (Scotcli). (No. 1.) Simply arranged. 
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CHORAL HARP. A Selection of Three-part Songs, Sacred and 
Secular, 64 pages. 

TEMPERANCE HARP, A Selection of 93 very Popular and Beau¬ 
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PRICE THREEPENCE (Post FreelSid.) 
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MILLER’S SELECTION OF PART SONGS; Arranged for 
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The following in Sol-fa Notation :— 

THE CHORUSES OF DONIZETTI’S OPERA “Lucia di 

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TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO POPULAR SCOT- 

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JOHN S. MARK & SONS, Wholesale Stationers, Glasgow. 











JOHN S. MARR S JSONS. 


■7 


Sacred Music in the Old Notation. 

B. A. SMITH’S ANTHEMS, DOXOLOGIES, &c.: only Com¬ 
plete Edition, containing Thirteen Eavourite Pieces not in any other; 
uniform with, and forming a Companion to, “ Maeks’ Sacked Music.” 
Price Is,; post free for 14 stamps. 

MABRS’ (late Cameron’s) SELECTION OF SACRED MUSIC: 

800 of the most Popular Psalm and Hymn Tunes used in Churches, in¬ 
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paper covers, 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. In limp cloth, Is.; post free 
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MARRS’ (late Cameron’s) NATIONAL LYRIST: a Selec¬ 
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Is.; post free for 14 stamps. In paper covers, 9d,; post free for 10 stamps. 


: Sacred Music in the Tonic Sol-Fa Notation. 

I 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF SACRED MUSIC: Part I., con¬ 
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Paper covers, price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. In cloth limp, 9d.; post 
free for 10 stamps. 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF SACRED MUSIC: Part II., con¬ 
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free for 7 stamps. In cloth limp, 9d.; post free for 10 stamps. 

MARRS’ SELECTION OF SACRED MUSIC, containing 

above 374 Psalm Tunes, Doxologies, and Chants. Tonic Sol-fa Notation. 
In paper covers. Is.; post free for 14 stamps. In cloth limp. Is, 6d.; post 
free for 20 stamps. 


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Board can be sent, post free, on receipt of 12 postage stamps. 







8 


JOHN S. MARK S SONS, 


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1. Amy Royson’s Resolve, and other Tales, being the Prize Volume. 

2. My Parish, and what happened in it; by M. A. Paul, Author of “Tims 

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7. Crosses of Chloe; by M. A. Paul, Author of “My Parish,” &c. 

8. Silent Tom : an American Thousand Dollar Prize Tale. 

9. At the Lion’s Mouth ; by W. D. Chellis, Author of Several First-class Tales. 

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of “ At the Lion’s Mouth.” 

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12. Eifle Raymond’s Life Work; by Jeannie BeU, Author of “My Mother’s 

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14. Lectures on Preaching ; by Henry Ward Beecher. 

15. Book of Blunders and a Chapter of Queer Epitaphs. By David 

Macrae. 

16. Home and Abroad : Contents—Amongst the Darkies, Thomas Carlyle, Chris¬ 

topher Isio.’tb., Charles Dickens. By David Macrae. 

17. Life of Napoleon III., with Portrait; by David Macrae. 

18. Trav^'ls in America, with special reference to Ontario. By George Easton. 


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1. The Abbot of Aberbrothock. 

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1. A Gold Hunter’s Adventures be¬ 

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2. The Adventures of a Midship¬ 

man. 

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5. Warncliffe the Wanderer. 

6. The Brave Old Salt; or, Life on 

the Quarter-Deck. 

7. The Light Dragoon. 

8. The Gambler’s Last Pledge, 

9. Life among the Bed Indians. 


10. Lights and Shadows of Scottish 

Life. By Professor Wilson, of 
Edinburgh University. 

11. Trials of Margaret Lyndsay. By 

Professor Wilson, of Edinburgh 
University. 

12. The Trail of Blood. 

13. The Conscript’s Revenge. 

14. Walter Ogilvy; or. The Forgot¬ 

ten Name. 

15. A Widow’s Devotion. 

16. The Missing Wife. 

17. Burns’ and Tannahill’s Poems. 










JOHN S. MAER S SONS. 


,9 


BONG BOOKS. 

PENNY SONG BOOKS, each containing* a great variety of 

most POPULAR SONGS. Post Free for 2 stamps. 


1. The Bums Songster. 

2. The Beauties of Tannahill. 

3. Moore’s Select Melodies. 

4. The “Patchwork” Songster. 

5. The People’s Song Book. 

6. The Wallace Song Book. 

7. The Comic Minstrel. 

8. Lloyd’s Comic Reciter. 

9. Christy Minstrel Songster. 

10. The Nigger Songster. 

11. The Shamrock Songster. 

12. The Dublin Songster. 

13. The New Comic Vocalist. 

14. The Annie Lisle Songster. 


15. The Albion Comic Songster. 

16. The Negro Songster. 

17. The War Songs of America. 

18. The Matrimonial Songster. 

19. The Patriotic Songster. 

20. The Polly Perkins Songster, 

21. The Tom Brown Songster. 

22. Paddle Your own Canoe Songs. 

23. Tramp, Tramp Songster. 

24. Happy Policeman Songster. 

25. AgreeableYoung Man Songster. 

26. Harry Clifton Song Book. 

27. Ka-foozle-um Songster. 

28. La Marseillaise Songster. 


TWOPENNY SONG BOOKS, each containing the largest 

number of Songs ever offered at the price, in fancy covers with cuts. Any 
one of the Series post free for 3 stamps, any two for 5 stamps, or any four 
for 9 stamps, as four go free under one stamp. 


1. Irish Comic Songster. 

2. The Irish Comic Melodies. 

3. The Irish Comic Song Book. 

4. The National Songster. 

5. The National Melodies. 

6. The National Song Book. 

7. The Naval Songster. 

8. The Nigger Melodist. 

9. The Beauties of Bums. 

10. The Scottish Comic Songster. 

11. Scottish Comic Melodist. 

12. The Scottish Comic Song Book. 

13. The Popular Comic Song Book. 

14. The Christy Minstrel Song Book. 

15. The Popular Songster. 


16. Moore’s Irish Melodies. 

17. Tannahill’s Songs, complete. 

18. The Donnybrook Fair Songster. 

19. The Black Diamond Songster. 

20. The Great Sensation Songster. 

21. The Rollicking Irish Songster. 

22. The Standard Comic Songster. 

23. The Ethiopian Songster. 

24. The London Comic Songster. 

25. The Music Hall Comic Songs. 

26. The Plantation Songster. 

27. The Army and Navy Songster. 

28. The American Songster. 

29. The Love and Sentimental 

Songster. 


18mo Series—Twopence each. 


1. The Dundreary Songster. 

2. The Bow Bells Songster. 

3. The New Sam Cowell Comic 

Songster. 

4. The Great Maclagan Songster. 

5. The Great Mackney’s Negro 

and Comic Songster. 


6. The Harry Clifton Comic 

Songster. 

7. The Johnny Come Marching 

Home Songster. 

8. Love and Pride Songster. 

9. Folly and Fashion Songster. 










10 


JOHN S. MARK & SONS. 


THREEPENNY SONG BOOKS. 


THE SONGS OF BTJENS, with. Music. Eighty-Tliree of tlie 

most Popular. In paper covers, price ScZ.; post free for 4 stamps. 

THE SONGS OF SCOTLAND: a new collection of nearly Two 

Hundred Popular and National Songs. In paper covers. Price 3d.; post 
free for 4 stamps. 

FOURPENNY SONG BOOKS, each containing a variety of 

the most Popular Songs, as sung by the most distinguished Vocalists. 
Free by post for 5 stamps, or any two for 9 stamps. 

1. Irish Comic Vocalist. 2. The Popular Vocalist. 

3. Scottish Comic Vocalist. 


SIXPENNY SONG BOOKS: containing all the favourite 

Songs of the Day. Free by post for 7 stamps, or any two for 13 stamps. 


1. The Scottish Minstrel. 

2. The Scottish Comic Minstrel. 

3. The Irish Comic Vocalist. 

4. Gems of National Song. 

5. The Universal Song Book. 


6. TannahilFs Songs and Poems, 

complete. 

7. Songs of the Day. ' 

8. Popular Comic Songster. 


SHILLING SONG BOOKS. 

THE SONGS OF THE DAY; containing 890 Favourite Songs. 

In cloth binding, with gilt back. Free by post for 14 stamps. 

THE POPULAR COMIC SONGSTER: containing 550 of the 

choicest Comic Songs. In cloth binding, with gilt back. Free by post 
for 14 stamps. 

SCOTTISH SONGS, complete, containing words and music of 

222 Popular Scottish Songs, many of them copyright. In limp cloth, Is.; 
post free for 14 stamps. 

SCOTTISH SONGS, words and music in Sol-fa Notation, con¬ 
taining the words and music of 222 Popular Scottish Songs, many of 
them copyright. In limp cloth. Is,; post free for 14 stamps. 

ENGLISH SONGS, words and music in Sol-fa Notation, con¬ 
taining words and music of Popular English Songs, many of them copy¬ 
right. In limp cloth. Is.; post free for 14 stamps. 


Mans JJity of Glasgow Fenny Pencils. 


For General Use. Not to be Excelled. In Six Different Degrees. 


H Hard, 

HB Hard, yet Black. 

B Medium, for General Use, 


BB Soft and Black. 

BBB Softer and very Black. 
F Fine and Firm. 


These Pencils are made of a really good Lead, and will be found very 
suitable for all kinds of Writing, as specified above. 1 Dozen post free for 
14 stamps. 










JOHN S. MARR S SONS, 


11 


ILLUSTRATED BURNS, 

THE POETICAL WORKS OF BOBEBT BURNS, Complete, 

with Memoirs, Prefatory Notes, and Marginal Glossary, beautiful Portrait 
and other Illustrations—forming the cheapest large-type editions of the 
Poet’s Works ever issued. Extra cloth, extra gilt, price 2s. 6d.; post free, 
84 stamps. Cloth extra, price 2s.; post free for 28 stamps. Cloth covers. 
Is.; post free, 14 stamps. 


Scottish Songs—Old Notation, 

SCOTTISH SONGS, Complete; containing the Words and 

Music of 222 Popular Scottish Songs, many of them copyright. In paper 
covers, 9d.; post free for 10 stamps. In cloth limp. Is.; post free for 14 
stamps. Handsomely bound in cloth, gilt, price Is. 6d.; post free for 20 
stamps. In tartan boards, price 5s.; post free for 64 stamps. 


Scottish Songs — Sol-fa Notation, 

SCOTTISH SONGS, Words and Music in Sol-Fa Notation; 

containing the Words and Music of 222 Popular Scottish Songs, many of 
them copyright. In paper covers, 9d.; post free for 10 stamps. In limp 
cloth. Is.; post free for 14 stamps. Handsomely bound in cloth, gilt, 
price Is. 6d.; post free for 20 stamps. ' ' ’ 


English Songs — Sol-fa Notation, 

ENGLISH SONGS, Words and Music in Sol-fa Notation; 

containing the Words and Music of Popular English Songs, many of them 
cop 3 nright. In paper covers, 9d.; post free for 10 stamps. In limp cloth. 
Is.; post free for 14 stamps. Handsomely bound in cloth, gilt, price 
Is. 6d.; post free for 20 stamps. 


Ballantinds Scottish Songs, 

ONE HUNDRED SONGS, with Melodies, Original and 

Selected, by James Ballantine, author of “Castles in the Air,” &c:; on 
toned paper and extra binding. Price 5s.; post free for 64 stamps. In 
tartan boards, 7s. 6d.; post free for 94 stamps. 










12 


JOHN S. mark S sons. 


CHEAP LIBRARY OF AMUSEMENT AND 
INSTRUCTION 

The following Volumes, price 6d. each; post free for 7 stamps. 

THE MODEL LETTER-WRITER, for Ladies and Gentle¬ 
men, forming a complete Guide to the Art of Polite Correspondence on 
all subjects. 18mo, sewed, fancy cover. 

FIRESIDE AMUSEMENTS FOR WINTER EVENINGS; 

containing the best Riddles, Enigmas, Conundrums Puzzle^ fortune- 
telling, Forfeits, Charms, Ceremonies, Magic, Legerdemam, Tricks with 
Cards and Dice, Fireworks, &c. 18mo, sewed, fancy cover. 

THE BUDGET OF ANECDOTE, WIT, AND HUMOUR; 

a Choice Collection of Anecdotes, Jests, Puns, and other Comic Saymgs, 
selected from the best sources. 18mo, sewed, fancy cover. 

“PATCHWORK,” a Book of Pun and Fun, compiled by 

Mr. Howard Paul, and containing the best selection of Anecdotes, &c., 
ever published. 18mo, sewed, fancy cover. 

THE LIVES OF CELEBRATED WARRIORS—Wallace, 

Bruce, Wellington, Bonaparte, Havelock, and Sir Colin Campbell. 18mo, 
sewed, fancy cover. 

POPULAR STORIES BY POPULAR WRITERS; or, Light 

Reading for Leisure Hours. Demy 18mo, sewed, fancy cover. 

LITTLE TALES FOR LITTLE READERS: Amusing 

Stories for the Young, with Woodcuts. 18mo, sewed, fancy cover. 

THE SCOTTISH MINSTRELS: 196 of the most Popular 

Songs of Scotland. 18mo, sewed, fancy cover. 

THE UNIVERSAL SONG-BOOK: 198 of the most Popular 

Songs of the day. 18mo, fancy cover. 

THE POETICAL WORKS OF ROBERT TANNAHILL, 

with Memoir of his Life. 32mo, fancy cover. 

JOHNSON’S DICTIONARY. 32mo, cloth, strongly bound. 


MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS. 

HOW TO WRITE: a Pocket Manual of Composition and 

Letter-Writing, embracing hints on Penmanship and the choice of Writ¬ 
ing Materials; Practical Rules for Literary Composition in general, and 
Epistolary and Newspaper Writing and Proof-correcting in particular; 
and Directions for Writing Letters of Business, Relationship, and Love, 
illustrated by numerous examples of genuine Epistles from the pens of the 
best Writers. To which are added Forms of Letters of Introduction, 
Notes, Cards, &c. In paper covers, 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

HOW TO DEBATE: a Manual for Debating Societies, with 

Hints as to Public Speaking. Price 2d.; post free for 3 stamps. 







JOHN S. MARR S SONS. 


13 


HOW TO BEHAVE: a Manual of Etiquette and Polite Be¬ 
haviour, and Guide to correct Personal Habits: embracing Personal 
Habits, Dress, Self-culture, Manners, and Morals; Courtesy, Etiquette, 
Domestic Manners, Apologies, Situations, Receptions, Visits and Calls, 
Observances of Everyday Life, Etiquette of Occasion and Places; Love, 
Courtship, Marriage, etc. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

HOW TO DO BUSINESS: a Manual of Practical Affairs, and 

Guide to Success in Life; embracing principles of business, advice in re¬ 
ference to a business education, choice of a pursuit, buying and selling, 
general management, causes of success and failure, how to get customers, 
business forms, etc. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

CAMERON’S SHORT-HAND WRITER’S POCKET GUIDE, 

being a New and Improved System of Stenography, whereby that art may 
be acquired in a few hours, without the aid of a teacher. Royal 32mo, 
cloth gilt, price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

THE READY RECKONER; or, Trader’s Sure Guide; con¬ 
taining accurate Tables of the value of any quantity of goods from |d. to 
£1, with Tables of Interest, Weights, and Measures, etc. Price 6d.; 
strongly bound; post free for 7 stamps. 

GRAY’S INTRODUCTION TO ARITHMETIC, for use in 

. Schools and Private Instruction. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

A CATECHISM FOR YOUNG COMMUNICANTS on the Na¬ 
ture and Uses of the Sacrament of our Lord’s Supper. By the late Rev. 
Dr. Andeew Thomson, Edinburgh. Price 3d.; post free for 4 stamps. 

JOHNSON’S DICTIONA!rY OF THE ENGLISH LAN- 

guage: containing many additional words not to be met with in former 
Pocket Editions, accentuated for Pronunciation on the basis of Walker. 
Diamond 32mo, neat Pocket Edition, cloth, price 6d.; post free for 7 
stamps. Also, an 18mo edition, cloth, price 9d.; post free for 11 stamps. 

WATT’S DIVINE SONGS, ISmo, with Engravings. Price 

3d.; post free for 4 stamps. 


LETTER WRITERS, 

New and Impkoved Seeies. Illusteated Coveks. 

THE GENTLEMEN’S LETTER WRITER; containing 75 

specimens of Letters on Business, Friendship, Love, Courtship, Marriage, 
and various other subjects, with applications for Situations, Forms of Re¬ 
ceipts and BiUs, Correspondents’ Directory, and List of Useful Abbrevia¬ 
tions. Price 3d.; post free for 4 stamps. 

THE LADIES’ LETTER WRITER; containing 67 examples 

of Letters on Love, Courtship, Business, Friendship, and a variety of other 
subjects, with Forms of Invitations, Cards, Notes, Bills, etc,; Directions 
for Addressing Persons of all Ranks, and List of Abbreviations. Price 
3d.; post free for 4 stamps. 

HOW TO WRITE: a Pocket Manual of Composition and 

Letter Writing. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 






14 


JOHN S. 3IARR S SONS. 


THE MODEL LETTER-WHITER, for the use of Ladies and 

Gentlemen: a complete Guide to Correspondence; comprising 142 origi¬ 
nal Letters on Business, Love, Courtship, Marriage, and other subjects; 
Directions for Letter Writing, Instructions for maldng Wills, Forms of 
Invitations, Eeceipts, Bills, and Notes: Correspondents’ Directory, and 
copious List of Useful Abbreviations. Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

THE PENNY LOVE-LETTER WRITER: a complete Guide 

to Correspondence on Love, Courtship, and Marriage. Price Id.; tree by 
post for 2 stamps. 


HEGITEBS. 

LLOYD’S COMIC RECITER; a Selection of favourite Comic 

Pieces for Recitation. Price One Penny; post free for 2 stamps. 

THE MODERN RECITER; a Selection of Standard Pieces in 
Prose and Verse, selected from the best Modern Authors. Price 3d.; 
post free for 4 stamps. 

THE POPULAR RECITER, or Handbook of Modern Elo¬ 
cution; a Selection of the choicest pieces in Prose and Verse, for Recita¬ 
tion, 18mo, sewed, fancy cover, price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

RECITATIONS AND READINGS; selected from the best 

Authors. This book is unequalled as a cheap collection of Recitations. 
Price 6d.; post free for 7 stamps. 

THE HANDBOOK OF RECITATION; a Selection of the 

newest and most popular pieces. Price 3d.; post free for 4 stamps. 

THE RECITER; a Selection of first-class pieces from the most 

popular Authors. Price 3d.; post free for 4 stamps. 


Marrs Fenny Headline Copy Books. 


In Ten Copy Books, with Engraved Headlines, consisting of 

a Series of Progressive Lessons in Penmanship, from the simplest to the 
most difficult. 

6. Half-Text or Round Hand. 

7. Half-Text and Small. 

8. Small Hand. 


1. Initiatory Lessons. 

2. Combination of Letters. 

3. Combination of Words. 

4. Text or Large Hand. 

6. Text and Round Hand. 


9. Text, Half-Text, and Small. 

10. Current Hand, 


1 Dozen post free for 13 stamps. 


Marts Twopenny Headline Copy Books. 

In Ten Copy Books, with Engraved Headlines, on Superfine 

Paper, consisting of a series of Progressive Lessons in Penmanship, from 
the simplest to the most difficult. 


1. Initiatory Lessons. 

2. Combination of Letters. 

3. Combination of Words. 

4. Text or Large Hand. 

5. Text and Round Hand. 


1 Dozen post free for 26 stamps. 


6. Half-Text or Round Hand. 

7. Half-Text and Small. 

8. Small Hand. 

9. Text, Half-Text, and Small. 

10. Current Hand. 










JOHN S. MAllR S SONS, 


15 


NEW WORN. 

LIFE OF THE REV. THOMAS GUTHRIE, D.D. 

With PORTKAIT. In Paper Covers, Is.; post free, 14 stamps; 

Cloth Boards, extra gilt, 2s.; post free, 28 stamps. 


NEW WORK BY H. WARD BEECHER. 

Now Eeady, in extra cloth, bevelled boards, price 2s.; post free, 28 stamps. 

POPULAR LECTURES ON PREACHING. 

“ The expositions of the Art of Preaching have excited wide-spread interest, and will 
he lar<^ely sought and read by all classes. Imbued as they are with strong common sense, 
and rich with the forceful eloquence of the great preacher, they will be of untold value 
to the students and professors of theology not only, but of exceptional interest to general 
reader'* besides. It corruscates with wit; it is all humorous with humour; it is charged 
with feeling, and sweet, hopeful charity; but the basis of all is the gold of a wholesome 
piety and sterling good sense .”—American Papers. 


DAVID MACRAE’S NEW WORKS. 


A BOOK OF BLUNDERS, 

And A CHAPTER OF QUEER EPITAPHS. 

This Book will be found very interesting, instructive, and amusing. 
Price, in illustrated paper covers, Is.; Post free, 14 stamps. In handsome 
cloth binding, 2s.; post free, 28 stamps. 


HOME AND ABROAD. 

Contents. _Amongst the Darkies—Pen-and-ink Sketches of Established, 

Free and u'.P. Celebrities—Kilts v. Trousers; a Quiz—Christopher North 
—American Spiritualists—Queer Things in the Hebrides—Thomas Carlyle 
—Charles Dickens, &c. &c. 

LIFE AND DEATH OF NAPOLEON III., 

With Portrait. Price for either of above, in paper covers. Is,; post free, 
14 stamps; or cloth limp. Is. 6d.; post free, 21 stamps; or cloth extra, 
strongly bound, 2s.; post free, 28 stamps. 

Price Is.; post free, 13 stamps, 

DIOGENES AMONG THE D.D.’S. 

Extraordinary Intelligence: Report of Infernal Parliament—Trial of Dr, 
Macleod for the Murder of Mr. Moses Law—Broad Church Millennium— 
and other Burlesques. 


Just Published, New Edition, 

LITTLE 'TIZ, and other Stories. 

In cloth limp, Is. 6d., post free, 20 stamps; cloth boards, extra gilt, 2s. 6d., 
post free, 34 stamps. 

Contents.— Story of Little ’Tiz—Joe Bickersteth—The Four Brothers- 
Down Among the Doctors—Bink’s Tragedy—Godfrey Grubb—After- 
Dinner Oratory—Spectacles in Church—The Railway .Chase—Leap-Year 
Wooing—Typographical Errors. 


















16 


JOHN & MARK & SONS. 


NEW FIVE SHILLING IBOOKS. 

Just published, post free for 66 stamps, 

LIFE AT A NORTHERN UNIVERSITY. 

BY NEIL N. MACLEAN, A.M. 

Being a Humorous Sketch of University Life. 

AMERICANS AT HOME. 

PEN AND INK SKETCHES OP AMERICAN LIFE. 

BY BEY. DAVID MACEAE. 


GEORGE ROY’S WORKS. 


LECTURES ANE STORIES. 
Brice Two Shillings, post free for 27 stamps. 


OENERAESHIR: A TALE. 

In Limp Cloth, Is. 6d., post free for 20 stamps; in Extra Cloth Binding, 
2s., post free for 28 stamps. 


Price Sixpence each, post free for 7 stamps. 

THE OLE, OLE STORY. 
TPIE ART OE RLEASIISrG-. 


NEW WORK; BY GEORGE EASTON. 


TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 

With special reference to Ontario as a Home for Working Men. 
Brice in Baper Covers, Is., post free for 14 stamps; in Cloth, 2s., post 


free for 27 stamps. 


=M 




GLASGOW: J^HN S. MARR X SONS, 

Wholesale Stationers and Publishers, ^ 

194 Buchanan Street. 


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